{"id":132345,"date":"2022-09-24T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T13:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=132345"},"modified":"2022-09-24T21:41:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T01:41:51","slug":"puck-drop-preview-2022-23-montreal-canadiens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/09\/24\/puck-drop-preview-2022-23-montreal-canadiens\/","title":{"rendered":"Puck Drop Preview: 2022-23 Montreal Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to our latest series here at Last Word on Hockey. The\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Puck Drop Preview<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0series takes you through each team as the season is fast approaching. The preview will focus on the narratives surrounding the team ending last year, during the offseason, and heading into the 2021-22 season. Puck Drop Preview also focuses on what the season has in store for each team from a roster and expectations perspective. Join us, as we look at all 32 teams before the season starts. Today, we take a look at the 2022-23\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Montreal Canadiens.<\/span><\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

2022-23 Montreal Canadiens<\/span><\/h2>\n

2021-22 Montreal Canadiens<\/span><\/h3>\n

The 2021-22 Montreal Canadiens hold the title of “first team to ever finish 32nd overall”. In a season where the Habs went 22-49-11 for 55 points, positives are unexpectedly quite easy to find. The Dominique Ducharme experiment that carried over from Montreal’s 2020-21 Stanley Cup Final run proved unsuccessful, but it began the largest shift in franchise history. Martin St-Louis<\/a> was brought in to coach the team into a new era, and\u00a0<\/span>Marc Bergevin<\/span><\/a>\u00a0was fired, replaced by the duo of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes. Although the team only fared a slight boost in actual performance (a 56-point pace), the team was seen in a much more positive light. Player performances improved, including amazing stretches by\u00a0<\/span>Nick Suzuki<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Cole Caufield<\/span><\/a>, and it’s hard to imagine any last-placed team filled with so much hope for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Management<\/span><\/h3>\n

Marc Bergevin made quite a few good moves in his tenure as general manager. The\u00a0<\/span>Max Pacioretty<\/span><\/a>\u00a0trade and the\u00a0<\/span>Phillip Danault<\/span><\/a>\u00a0trade come to mind here. He equally made some very bad moves. The\u00a0<\/span>Jonathan Drouin<\/span><\/a>\u00a0trade and\u00a0<\/span>Karl Alzner<\/span><\/a>\u00a0signing come to mind here. Ultimately, the time for a change was long overdue, and ownership made the move. First bringing in Jeff Gorton, the man behind the New York Rangers’ recent speedy rebuild, and the overseer of the Boston Bruins’ legendary 2006 draft, one piece of the two-man duo was cemented. The GM search took several months until finally Kent Hughes<\/a> agreed to take the job. Hughes, a big name in the agent industry negotiated some amazing contracts on the player end – such as the massive\u00a0<\/span>Darnell Nurse<\/span><\/a>\u00a0deal. We’ve already seen the pair make some crazy moves – like the\u00a0<\/span>Tyler Toffoli<\/span><\/a>\u00a0trade, and they appear to have had a strong draft. They also brought in Martin St-Louis as a coach, which has been an all-time fan-favourite move.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Coaches<\/span><\/h3>\n

While Martin St-Louis is almost old news at this point, his impact is felt on all levels. The players clearly bought into his system, and so did the fans. He received an incredible 15-minute standing ovation at the draft, which was a little ironic due to him being an undrafted player.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Ovation monstre pour Martin St-Louis. pic.twitter.com\/p0bnPvzlBP<\/a><\/p>\n

— Nicolas Cloutier (@NCloutierTVA) July 7, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n