The Montreal Canadiens were expected to spend the 2023-24 NHL season in the basement of the Atlantic Division as the rebuild continues in Quebec. But the Habs got off to a pleasantly surprising start instead, winning five of their first seven games and looking like the potential was there for them to battle for a playoff spot all season long.
Fast forward two weeks and Montreal is mired in a four-game losing skid, dropping to 5-5-2 and sitting just two points ahead of the Ottawa Senators for the dreaded No. 8 spot in the division. To their defense, the Habs played some great teams in that stretch, including the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights, and kept all four contests close.
But that doesn't change the fact that a promising early-season winning streak has devolved into chaos again for a Canadiens club that is certainly wanting for talent. And that's especially true because of the most disappointing thing about the year so far: the loss of Kirby Dach.
Losing Kirby Dach a devastating blow
Drafted with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Kirby Dach really struggled in the Windy City. His 26 points in 70 games in 2021-22 was unacceptable for the Hawks, who shipped the 22-year-old to Montreal ahead of the 2022-23 NHL campaign. And the change of scenery was clearly a huge favor to this player.
Dach scored 14 goals and 38 points in 58 games last year, and looked ready to improve on those totals over a full season with the Canadiens. But after two assists in his first game-and-a-half, he exited midway through Game 2, which also happened to be against Chicago. It didn't look good when Hawks D-man Jarred Tinordi sent him flying into the boards, and it wasn't. Dach tore both his ACL and MCL on the play, ending his season before it even got going.
The expectations weren't high for this team, but the young trio of Dach, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki are what bring the excitement to the Bell Centre in the dark days. There's no silver lining and no sugar coating here; losing Kirby Dach for the season is as close to a worst-case scenario as this team can get, and is reminiscent of Caufield's shoulder injury that cost him almost all of last year.
Sean Monahan looks like a new player
In Dach's absence, a player that not many expected to step up, but has done so admirably — to the tune of nearly a point-per-game pace — is Sean Monahan. Once an 82-point player with the Calgary Flames in 2018-19, the Brampton, Ontario native has struggled with injuries and only suited up for 25 games after being traded from one Canadian city to another in August of 2022.
“I tore the labrum of my other hip three games into last season and kept playing,” Monahan reflected on his last season with the Flames in 2021-22. “Later on, I suffered three fractured ribs. They were protruding out of my back and it was brutal. There were days where I don't even know what I was doing practicing because I couldn't even tie my own skates.”
How Monahan is even still playing hockey is astounding, and it makes his early season success with the Canadiens even more impressive. The 29-year-old is second in team scoring with six goals and 11 points in 12 games, and he's been an excellent addition to the top-six and first powerplay unit. Monahan is making just under $2 million this season, and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. The way things are going, he's set to earn a huge raise — whether with the Habs or elsewhere — with his next contract.
Josh Anderson, Juraj Slafkovsky floundering in early going
On the flip side of Monahan's electric start has been the seriously disappointing duo of Josh Anderson and Juraj Slafkovsky. Anderson earned a look on the top-line right wing with Caufield and Suzuki, but was quickly relegated from that spot. He's recorded one assist in 12 games, an unacceptable pace for the veteran forward.
And Slafkovsky hasn't been much better, although he has a longer leash at just 19 years-of-age. Currently playing on the first line, the No. 1 overall pick and highest drafted Slovak player in NHL history has scored just one goal and two points in 2023-24. After just ten points in 39 contests in his rookie season, the nervousness is starting to set in for Habs fans. Both Anderson and Slafkovsky need to get going offensively; Caufield, Monahan and Suzuki can't be the only ones providing offense.
Overall, it's a long season, but it does look like this team is fading. Without reliable goaltending, and considering the loss of Kirby Dach, the train could just be beginning to derail. The future is bright, but a promising start to 2023-24 could have been a mirage for a Canadiens team that is notoriously bad in November.
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