It’s hard to call a 50th win a huge milestone. However, Montreal Canadiens goalie Samuel Montembeault just missed out last season, standing at No. 49 heading into 2024-25. So, it’s at least on his personal to-do list, but, coincidentally, the single victory he needs to reach the half-century mark would also tie him with Jake Allen on the team’s all-time list (41).
As Montembeault effectively beat out the since-traded Allen for the No. 1 job, that would have to feel good. However, more significantly, if he simply ties his win total of 16 from last season, he’ll tie Jaroslav Halak at No. 21 on the team’s all-time list (56). However, poised to set new career highs as the team’s undisputed No. 1, Montembeault could hit 18 (or more) to tie (pass) Cristobal Huet and etch his name into the team’s Top 20 all-time goalies (in terms of wins).
Even so, Montembeault just misses out on ranking in this list of the top milestones within reach of individual Canadiens this coming season. Here are the top five… Canadiens, but not necessarily milestones; Several Habs are in line for more than one:
5. Brendan Gallagher (233th goal, 457th point)
Based purely on his career totals, you wouldn’t think Brendan Gallagher is approaching a significant milestone. He’s at 218 goals and 426 points in 752 games. However, by virtue of the fact he’s played all those games with the Canadiens, he’s on the verge of passing several greats.
The less notable of the bunch is 800 games, which he needs 48 to reach. After a complete season for all intents and purposes last season, that’s suddenly a realistic plateau for the admittedly oft-injured forward. Were he to hit 801 though, Gallagher would tie Jean-Guy Talbot for 20th all-time.
Gallagher is also on the verge of breaking into the Top 20 in terms of goals scored. Currently at No. 22, he need three to tie Guy Carbonneau (21), five to tie Pete Mahovlich (20), seven to tie Stephane Richer (19) and eight to tie Max Pacioretty (18). Since he scored 16 goals last season, Gallagher could conceivably go as high as Tomas Plekanec (No. 17 with 233).
Similarly, after a 31-point season, Gallagher could potentially go as high as No. 28 on the all-time list. Currently at No. 31, he would pass Doug Harvey (447), Max Pacioretty (448) and Pierre Mondou (456) along the way.
4. Nick Suzuki (298th point)
Of note, Gallagher is at 44 career power-play goals at No. 30 all-time. While it’s possible he moves up somewhat, it’s more realistic that Nick Suzuki (No. 36 with 38) passes him in a bid to hit 50 in his career, after scoring 12 in 2023-24. Were Suzuki to hit the 50-power-play-goal plateau, he’d pass Vincent Damphousse with 49 (No. 22).
Suzuki is also just five points away from 100 on the man advantage, tied with Frank Mahovlich at No. 38. If he were to hit the century mark, he’d also pass Yvon Lambert, Ryan Walter, Martin Rucinsky (97) and Pierre Mondou (98) along the way.
Suzuki is also few away from entering the team’s Top 50 in terms of goals scored (total). He needs just eight to tie Johnny Gagnon (116) for the honour. Same thing for total points. Another 11 and he ties Rucinsky at No. 50 with 297. However, he continues to chase a point per game after scoring a career-high 77 in 82 contests last season. If he does, he could move all the way into the Top 40, with J.C. Tremblay currently sitting there with 363 points.
Not for nothing, but Suzuki, the team’s resident ironman with 373 career games played (straight), is also at No. 101 on the team’s all-time list in that category. So, a shoo-in to move up there he should realistically stay healthy enough to vie for the 82 points (knock on wood).
3. Mike Matheson (20th goal, 100th point with Canadiens)
Milestones are tricky. A simple 100 can often be more significant than a multiple of the figure, the logic being that the first 100 is harder to get? In any case, defenseman Mike Matheson hit the century mark in terms of points a long time ago, but, having joined the Canadiens ahead of the 2022-23 season, he’s on the cusp of reaching the total as a Hab.
Matheson is currently at No. 37 among Canadiens defensemen (96 points). Leo Lamoureux (98) is the only defenseman standing between him and 100 points with the team. However, coming off a 62-point season, Matheson probably has his sights higher up the list. Recent-“retiree” and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Shea Weber ranks 20th with 146, which would require just 50 more to reach.
Matheson also needs just a single goal to hit 20 as a member of the Canadiens. That would move him into the Top 40 (defensemen) and tie him Mathieu Dandenault and Lyle Odelein for No. 39 in history, while a repeat of last season, during which he scored 11, would push him into the Top 30 (with 30).
2. Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Evans, Kirby Dach (100th point)
By that same logic, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Evans and Kirby Dach rank higher on this list in pursuit of their 100th career points (overall). Dach is closest with 99. “Safely” assuming he returns to action at some point, he should collect the single point he needs, after scoring just two to start last season before suffering his season-ending injury. He obviously made last year’s list, with the same milestone in reach. He just fell short and victim to circumstance.
Evans is at 92 career points, while Slafkovsky, following a break-out 50-point sophomore effort, is at 60. However, in some ways, he’s the surest thing of the bunch. Last season Slafkovsky actually broke Mario Tremblay’s Canadiens record for the most points in a season by a teenager (39) (from ‘Stu Cowan: Canadiens’ Juraj Slafkovsky growing both on and off the ice,’ Montreal Gazette, March 28, 2024).
With a March 30 birthday, the now-20-year-old will at least have a chance to break Tremblay’s record of 112 points scored by a Canadiens player younger than 21, which may sound incredibly niche. However, it’s really just a reflection of Slafkovsky’s increasing importance to the Habs. The fact he’s found a home on the top line proves that and how he’ll get his chance to get the record. Playing with Suzuki and Cole Caufield, two 65-point players, he’ll certainly get his looks.
1. Cole Caufield, Joel Armia (100th goal, 200th point)
That last sentiment, regarding increasing importance to the Canadiens, more accurately describes Caufield than Joel Armia. However, both players find themselves in the same situation, on the verge of scoring their 100th career goals (and 200th points). Coming off a 65-point season, Caufield is at 81 goals and 149 points in his career. For his part, Armia is at 92 goals and 178 points.
To get to 100, Caufield, having obviously spent his entire career with the Canadiens, would pass a slew of notable names. He’s currently tied with Brian Bellows at No. 80 on the all-time list. Chris Higgins is at No. 77 (84). Mike Keane is at No. 72 (90). Brian Gionta and Claude Lemieux are at No. 66 (purely coincidentally in the latter’s case; 97). Richard Zednik is at No. 65 (98). Andrei Kostitsyn is at No. 64 (99). Serge Savard is at No. 63 (100).
With seven game-winning goals last season, Caufield is also at 15 in his career already (No. 64). He needs just three to move into the Top 50 and four to hit 20 and move into the Top 40, with Alexei Kovalev, Don Marshall, Floyd Curry, Guy Lapointe and Andrei Markov each tied at No. 39 with that much.
As a further testament to his ability to score game-winning goals, Caufield is already tied for fourth with seven career overtime goals. Max Pacioretty holds the team record with 10. Caufield scored three last season, so that’s within reach too.
Not to be outdone, even though he is, Armia (and Josh Anderson) are tied with Erwin Chamberlain with 66 career goals with the Canadiens. A single goal would move them both into the Top 100, tied with Yanic Perreault. Specifically with regard to Armia, who’s a penalty-killing specialist, he’s currently got nine shorthanded goals with the Canadiens, tied with Frank Mahovlich. Were he to get even a single goal more, he’d move into ninth placewith 10, into a four-way tie with Martin Rucinsky, Benoit Brunet and Jim Roberts.
Of course, Armia is on the block as a pending unrestricted free agent. So, he may get traded before hitting his marks. And, to be completely fair, centre Christian Dvorak is at 93 career goals (and 452 career games). However, he too could potentially be traded… ideally will get traded before the start of the season to make more room on the roster and down the middle specifically.
Technically, the same is true of just about everyone (minus Gallagher, who has a no-movement clause). However, even if the playoffs will logically remain out of reach, Canadiens fans will certainly have a lot to watch for in 2024-25, whether it’s on the milestone, storyline or trade fronts. It’s shaping up to be a momentous season, at least for a few Habs, individually speaking. The more that reach their milestones, the likelier it becomes a successful season for the organization as a whole.
