Last season, the word that kept ringing out at the Montreal Canadiens’ annual golf tournament was the famous mix. Neither Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton nor Martin St-Louis dared talk of the playoffs as a goal, while mix remained the popular and cautious word.
In the end, the Habs succeeded in moving from the mix to the playoffs, and this accomplishment, even if it only lasted five games, is a step forward in the rebuilding plan, when the playoffs weren’t necessarily expected as early as the 2024-2025 season.
But now, with the team the Habs have on hand and the accomplishments of the past season, it’s clear that the playoffs will be the goal, even if everyone will remain cautious in their words.
Alexandre Carrier was clear, however, explaining that expectations for the team will clearly be different.
[content-ads] And he’s totally right, as fans, who are all very excited ahead of next season, have the playoffs on their minds and can’t wait to see the club perform in the playoffs longer than five games.
What’s more, as Carrier explained yesterday at the KR Classic at Complexe CN in Brossard, it’s not just internally that expectations will be different towards the Montreal Canadiens. Opposing teams will also expect more from the Habs, and will therefore expect the Canadiens differently when the time comes to face them.
Last season, the Habs were still seen as a bottom-of-the-barrel team, and were surely looked down upon more than not throughout the season. But now, having made the playoffs changes all that, and gives the Habs a new image, especially with the major acquisitions (Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc) this summer, and a full season from Ivan Demidov.
[In fact, Carrier, who is right-handed, was quick to praise the acquisition of Dobson, another right-handed defenseman, even though he sincerely believes that such in-house competition is healthy:
“It’s good to have in-house competition. And it’s true that we were short of right-handed defenders, let’s face it! It’s just good for the team when everyone’s fighting for chairs. We’re just getting better as a team. It’s going to help the team succeed.”
–
Alexandre Carrier
It’s nice to see the Québécois so excited by the acquisition of a defenseman playing on the same side as him, who will most likely move ahead of him in the pecking order.
Finally, to come back to the expectations placed on the Habs, even if the Habs’ #45 moderates his comments somewhat by explaining that the team is still one of the youngest and still has a lot to learn, he believes that it’s all moving in the right direction and for the better. In short, of course we want the Canadiens to make the playoffs, as that will be their objective, but we mustn’t be disappointed or dejected if they don’t. It’ll just be a blip on the radar.
-1751594350-q80.webp "Clarke Schmidt exits with forearm tightness in worrying Yankees sign")
-1753847637-q80.webp "Bills building around youth: Can rookie Maxwell Hairston turn their secondary into strength?")