It’s well-known by now that the Canadiens have a surplus of defenders and that there’s a wide expectation they’ll deal from that.  Justin Barron might not be the one being dealt but the decision they make on him should set the stage for a good chunk of their offseason plans. After a 2022-23 campaign that had its fair share of ups and downs, Barron was hoping that he’d be a full-timer in Montreal this past season.  That didn’t exactly happen.  After a first half which was once again bumpy, he was back in Laval for most of the second half before getting a late-season recall due to ..read more

With the Canadiens season over, the HabsWorld podcast gang was back to discuss the last six games of the season and talk about the team’s near future. Podcast host Norm Szcyrek was joined by cohosts Paul MacLeod, Sean Cayouette, and Jonathan Rebelo to talk about our beloved Montreal Canadiens, several NHL topics, and share a lot of laughs. This podcast was recorded on the evening of April 29, 2024. We have a full roster of topics including: – Introductions and Habs Trivia – Lane Hutson is signed. Norm was in Detroit to watch his first NHL game and shared his thoughts – Debating which seven def ..read more

Upgrade. If there is any word that best characterizes the Montreal Canadiens over the last few years, it is this one. The team has made upgrades in its management and coaching structure. It has added new voices to its scouting department. The Habs now have a premier analytics department. They have hired more player development personnel – including one of the best in the profession, along with first-rate consultants. The team snagged key personnel from the highly respected New York Rangers’ medical and training staff. And it now boasts having one of the NHL’s best media relations departments ..read more

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Habs were one of 11 teams who have already incurred a bonus overage penalty for next season.  Let’s break down how much the team will have deducted off their spending limit for 2024-25 and how it got to that point. According to Daily Faceoff in collaboration with CapFriendly, the Canadiens will be facing an overage penalty of $1,022,500.  If you think that number feels high, it’s actually an improvement on this season which checked in at $1,170,000.  Get used to Montreal being in this situation, however.  As long as they’re carryi ..read more

Laval entered last week with an opportunity to control their playoff destiny if they could pull off a pair of regulation wins over Belleville.  They weren’t able to do it, however, falling both times, allowing the Senators to get the final spot. The Week That Was Apr. 19: Belleville 3, Laval 2 – The game got off to a nice start for Laval with Mitchell Stephens scoring in the first and Lias Andersson adding one early in the second; the veterans were coming through in the clutch.  But as has often been the case this season, holding a lead was too much of a challenge.  The Sen ..read more

The Habs didn’t have anything to play for but pride over the final two games although they could have messed with Detroit’s playoff push.  In the end, the Red Wings didn’t make the postseason anyway while Montreal finished up the 2023-24 campaign with a pair of extra time losses. The Week That Was Apr. 15: Detroit 5, Montreal 4 (OT) – Considering one team had everything to play for and one didn’t, it was surprising to see the Habs get out to an early two-goal lead, the first goal coming off a setup from Lane Hutson on his second career shift.  They extended the lead to 4-1 with less ..read more

This year’s playoffs are upon us, and the HabsWorld writers gave their predictions on the first-round series. This is the first part covering all games starting April 20th. Eastern Conference Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins Brian La Rose predicts: Maple Leafs in 6 games Kevin Leveille predicts: Maple Leafs in 6 games Norm Szcyrek predicts: Bruins in 5 games Oren Weizman predicts: Bruins in 6 games (Brian) Toronto exorcised a big demon last year by getting through the opening round which actually might take some pressure off them this time around.  I think a lack of top-end firepower ..read more

The month of March saw plenty of Montreal’s prospects finish their regular seasons and get off to a strong start in the playoffs, earning them a spot in our monthly three stars. Laval 1st Star: Jakub Dobes – What a difference a few months can make.  In the first couple of months of the season, Dobes struggled mightily, resulting in Laval losing some games where they were the better team.  Now, the opposite is happening and he’s stealing games that the Rocket had no business getting two points out.  More or less, that helped wipe out some of the bad early losses.  From a dev ..read more

With the season now over, it’s a good time to take a look back at the past month and see who our readers selected as Montreal’s top players in March. 1st Star: Nick Suzuki While this wasn’t a case of Suzuki saving his best full month for last (he was more productive in February), the captain was still Montreal’s most productive forward in March, landing him a little over 75% of first-place votes in the process.  Basically, he continued what he did for pretty much the entire year.  While I have some doubts about the sustainability of his goal total (buoyed by an unsustainable 27.3% sh ..read more

The second-last week of the regular season saw Laval taking on one of the top teams in the North Division for a pair of games.  They managed a split and while that hurt their playoff chances, they still have a viable path to the postseason. The Week That Was Apr. 11: Cleveland 6, Laval 4 – Things couldn’t have gotten off to a better start with Mitchell Stephens scoring on the first shift of the game with Lucas Condotta adding one five minutes later.  But this time, the Rocket followed the lead of the Habs, blowing that lead with an ugly second period, one that saw they allow fou ..read more