Originally thought by many to be heading to the basement of the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens have had a surprisingly decent season so far
The halfway point of the 2018-19 NHL season has come and gone for the Montreal Canadiens, and things seem a lot better than expected. General Manager Marc Bergevin hasn’t destroyed the team, they have consistent offensive output and even Carey Price is looking okay.
No one really expected this. Alongside the Ottawa Senators, the Canadiens were not only heading for the basement of the Atlantic Division but the entire league. The idea of a slowly fading team is probably scary to a lot of Canadiens fans. Considering their long history of unmatched supremacy in the sport, a rebuild in Montreal is almost unthinkable.
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Although they haven’t won a Cup since 1992, they generally don’t see many droughts season-to-season. They have the occasional bad year like last season or 2012, but they actually haven’t missed the playoffs twice in a row since the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Although they look quite far from contention, they may yet be able to maintain this playoff streak for another season. How have they managed to improve from one of their worst seasons ever in 2017-18?
The offense
Even worse than Carey Price’s struggles last season was their limited offensive ability. The Habs lacked any true big-time scorer. Brendan Gallagher, with 31 goals and 23 assists for 54 points, was the closest thing they had.
Once you got past Alex Galchenyuk, who had 51 points, their shallowness on the offensive end was painful. Jonathan Drouin and Jeff Petry were the only other two with more than 40 points. The Canadiens managed to inflate their shot totals to an above-average number, but their 7.7 percent shooting percentage showed just how poor their shot quality tended to be. They scored only 207 goals where the league average was 244.
The solution to this started off with the Max Domi trade. It didn’t look very good when it happened, and you have to question if Bergevin really knew he would be this good, but this is the type of scoring that Montreal just didn’t have.
Max Domi isn’t a two-way forward like Galchenyuk, but his output has made the trade worth it. While the Habs barely managed any 50-point scorers last season, Domi is on pace for 71. If you’ve been watching the team, it doesn’t end there.
Tomas Tatar, on pace for 60 points, is having a better season than most thought possible, after his frankly lackluster showing with the Vegas Golden Knights. Jonathan Drouin is on pace for almost 15 more points than last year and Jeff Petry is having a career season.
Really, a good chunk of their corps and new players are just having surprisingly good seasons. And, unsurprisingly, the better offense has brought better shots and shot quality with it. Not only are they on pace for 79 more shots, but their shooting percentage has gone up by a full percent. They are still shooting more than they probably should, but at least they’re not just lobbing muffins at the net anymore.
When you shoot more and your shots go in the net, your team is obviously a lot better. Although they’re not on the level as some others in the Atlantic Division, their offense is, at the very least, middle-of-the-pack.
Goaltending
So, the Canadiens are locked into an $84 million contract with Carey Price. He recorded a .900 save percentage last season through 49 games, which made him a candidate for worst contract in the league.
Price is a conundrum that no one can really solve. Sometimes, he’s the best goalie in the league without a question. Immediately afterwards, he can’t seem to stop anything. Why do these fluctuations happen? Is there a conspiracy? Is he trying to get somebody fired? Price’s sudden bursts and struggles from season to season exist as the most bizarre mystery the NHL has to offer.
This season, he has turned the extremes down a notch. He definitely hasn’t been great, but he hasn’t been terrible. His .908 save percentage cements him as very average. A 0.08 percent improvement sounds tiny, but it adds up over an 82 game season. With this Price, at least, is on pace to allow fewer goals. This doesn’t address the backup situation, but it’s a start to having a good all-around team.
With these efforts, he usually gives the Canadiens a chance to win. It may sound strange, but consistent, decent goaltending is what the Habs need from him- or at least someone. Antti Niemi doesn’t have another .930 year in him. For $80 million, the Canadiens want better goaltending from Price. They want elite goaltending from Price, in fact.
However, as long as he isn’t looking like an AHL goalie who also happens to be the highest-paid goaltender ever, the Canadiens have a shot at the playoffs.
Conclusion
So, the Canadiens aren’t terrible anymore. In every way, they have become remarkably average. Their scoring is average, their goaltending is average, their goals allowed is average. Everything is average.
For a team with as proud a legacy as the Canadiens, an average team will always be more desirable than a basement dweller.
All stats are from hockeyreference.com.