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The Montreal Canadiens have a slight issue, as their most fatal flaw is difficult to fix for the 2024-25 season. The Canadiens had the most man games missed due to injury in 2022-23, and the 12th most in 2023-24. Montreal's issue in 2023-24 was their injuries happened to integral players and is already happening this year with Patrik Laine's knee injury.
The Canadiens have been rebuilding since the 2021-22 season. They made a miraculous Stanley Cup run in 2021, led by Carey Price and Shea Weber. There was optimism that it was a sign of things to come for the league's most successful franchise. However, the 2021 Cup run was when the injury issues began for the Canadiens. Price and Weber never recovered from the toll that playoff season took on their body, sending them into early retirements.
How can the Canadiens fix this fatal flaw? It's a question that the fanbase has been screaming into the clouds for many seasons. Is there an issue with the club's training team, which is setting the players up for failure with their off-season routines and in-season recovery? Is it just a system of bad luck where the Canadiens' best players suffer unavoidable injuries?
It's hard to believe that the training team is to blame for the injuries. However, there must be some things the organization can do to enhance recovery and put the players in a better position to remain healthy. The Canadiens are one of the most profitable franchises in the league, and to the public eye, they aren't doing much to improve their sports science departments.
It could be just a need for some more good luck for the Canadiens, but sometimes with luck, you have to try to create it for yourself.
Patrik Laine's injury was a bad start for Canadiens
The Canadiens entered the 2024-25 season with plenty of optimism. The offensively hamstrung roster had massive additions in the offseason, acquiring Patrik Laine and drafting Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage. The team would have to wait for Demidov and Hage, but Laine could be an immediate improvement. However, Laine took a gruesome knee-on-knee hit in the preseason which knocked him out for 2-3 months with a knee injury.
It was the second straight season that an offensive star for the Canadiens suffered a knee injury. The fear was that Laine would miss the entire season like Kirby Dach in 2023-24, but he avoided major injury. Regardless, it's a hole that will be hard to fill until he is healthy enough to return. The Canadiens hoped to contend for a playoff spot in 2024-25, but the Laine injury could affect that plan.
David Reinbacher already has knee issues
Laine's injury wasn't even the most significant in that preseason game. Top defensive prospect David Reinbacher also suffered a knee injury, which will keep him out until March or April. The Reinbacher injury is more concerning than Laine's, as the soon-to-be 20-year-old has too many injuries in his past. The Canadiens must figure out a better plan of attack for him to combat these knee problems, which goes back to them improving the sports science department.
The Canadiens might not be able to do anything substantial to fix this fatal flaw. However, they have to hope that the bad injury luck will eventually sort itself out. It has been wreaking havoc on the organization since the 2021 Stanley Cup run and is already negatively affecting the 2024-25 season.
