Joel Edmundson says team believes in their chances to return to the playoffs this season
After a season to forget in 2021-22, one that saw them finish dead-last in the NHL standings, the Montreal Canadiens will look to turn things around this year.
With the additions of Kirby Dach, Sean Monahan, Mike Matheson and drafting Juraj Slafkovsky first overall in July, the Canadiens have certainly improved, mainly among their forward group.
While addressing the media at their annual golf tournament, Canadiens assistant captain Joel Edmundson said that the team believes they're ready to take the next step and are focused on making the playoffs.
Although the Canadiens seem optimistic and that they're focused on returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they'll be in tough for a number of different factors.
On the blue line, Jeff Petry is gone and in comes Mike Matheson, who will more than likely play a second pairing role. Joel Edmundson will play a big role again on the top pair, playing 25 minutes a night. David Savard and Chris Wideman will probably round out the top-four. But the remaining two spots for the third pair are up for grabs with Justin Barron, Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris and Mattias Norlinder all vying for a spot on the NHL roster.
The Canadiens will have to start a second consecutive season without Carey Price between the pipes. General Manager Kent Hughes said a few weeks ago that it doesn't appear that there is a way for Price to return to the crease during the 2022-23 season. That means it will be Jake Allen in the starting role with either Samuel Montembeault or Cayden Primeau as his backup.
With Montreal looking pretty thin on the blue line and in net, those two factors alone won't help them in their push for a playoff spot. Combine that with how tough the Atlantic Division will be this season, with Ottawa improving significantly, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Florida and Boston all likely contenders for the three playoff spots, the Canadiens won't have an easy time this season.
The Habs will most likely improve on their 32nd place finish last season, it's hard to imagine them clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with how things currently stand.
#Habs Edmundson on internal expectations this season: «Rebuilding? That was last year. I think we're ready to take the next step Our mindset is we're making the playoffs.» @TSN_Edge— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNMtl) September 12, 2022
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Logan Cooley | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Fraser Minten | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mikhail Sergachev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Chris Tanev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Tavares | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Simon Benoit | - | - | - | |
| Nick Bjugstad | - | - | - | |
| Michael Carcone | - | - | - | |
| Ian Cole | - | - | - | |
| Lawson Crouse | - | - | - | |
| Connor Dewar | - | - | - | |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | - | - | - | |
| Barrett Hayton | - | - | - | |
| Pontus Holmberg | - | - | - | |
| Clayton Keller | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Maple Leafs | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||