The dach injury was a huge sting

Lane Hutson - likely Hobey Baker finalist again this year - and possibly coming up to finish year with the Habs. It's worth checking out BU for Hutson and Celebrini.

L A N E H U T S O N

Dach and Newhook injuries obviously hurt this team. For me, Slafkovsky is an absolute star in the making and the player with the most potential in the organization. Lane Hutson is also a guy who they're really waiting for. Will be fascinating to see how Kent Hughes deals with all the assets. Monahan is most probably their most valuable veteran asset at the deadline with the contract he's on right now and I expect a decent haul back for him. Selling high on Matheson could also be an option as of this season.

Newhook, Hutson, Mailloux, Roy are worth mentioning as well

Don’t forget Lane Hutson on D kind sir.

This rebuild of the Canadiens is quite unusual. They've already had extra draft picks and have more to come, yet they still have a high payroll with a number of questionable contracts for veterans. It's like Marc Bergevin had 2 personalities--one was trading contracts for cap space and picks, and the other always thought he needed one more veteran to make a run in the playoffs.

I feel like they're being underrated by some. Hughes has made some great moves as GM. Their record isn't horrendous rn, and their future is obviously bright.

We still need a couple of high end offensive talents to truly become a contender. For so long we’ve had great, but not game breaking offensive talent. Maybe some of that comes from the blue line with Hutson coming in soon, but the team is still at least 2 or so years out or the playoffs imo depending on how drafting goes. Fingers crossed Dach can stay healthy and provide some good offensive progression, I’ve loved his play when he was healthy

Lane Hutson will be the X-Factor on the back end. If he pans out & is an offensive star then it will give the Habs better opportunity to upgrade the forwards with their extra D. Him & Reinbacher in Laval this spring should be a ton of fun to watch.

Have you noticed how much Montreal has been in overtime this year? I believe they are on pace to set the NHL record

I am excited to see how Beck and Hutson look at camp. Fingers crossed for a healthy Dach

The Dach injury in the 2nd game of the year was probably the worst thing that could have possibly happened this season. This year was going to be his breakout

the problem is their first line is looking like a second line and a good first line won't appear anytime soon

Hoping for Dach to get healthy and bounce back

Dach's injury was such a game changer... He was about to have a carreer year, he worked so hard in the summer and he had such a peak mental state...

Slafkovsky is going to hit! If you watch him play now you see a huge change in his confidence and skill, he’s getting so good at winning battles in the corner and in front of the net! He’s just not quite getting the points yet but he will be our best player soon he’s going to be amazing he will be our explosive forward

If they deal: Savard, Harris or make it a combo for a high draft pick, plus ship out Allen we will have some more cap space plus we can get a pick, PLUS something else. That's honestly the only real big move(s) I could see them doing. Gotta say though.... I think people are sleeping on Slaf, I got a gut feeling he is going to be dominant in a couple years.

No mention of Lane Hutson?!?

As a Habs fan, I have no complaints. We're not a playoff team yet but I am confident in the management of this team. I have no problem waiting a little longer.

The Jersey is "Le Cool"

Any Habs fans watching the youngsters coming around thinking every time they have a lapse in jugment: "meh, as long as they learn something when it doesn't work out". Some say the young players were brought up too quick, I think being able to mature in the NHL with less pressure (well for Montreal that is) is a great way to learn and directly contibute to the team. What would be dumb would be to change rebuild strategies without giving the current one proper time to work out.

great analyses, thx!

Unless I missed it, you forgot to mention a great asset coming by the name of Lane Hutson. He's in line to being a top 3 defenseman.

Another great content by my man Shannon keep up the good work Habs Fan here and big fan of your content 💯💯💯

thank you for this habs video! :) i watch your channel anyways but it's nice to see the home boys

Slafkovsky really needs to be the explosive forward you were talking about.

Surprised you didnt put Newhook on the don't forget also.

It's going to take some time. They have good young players but they still need that superstar player upfront. Thankfully, more young players are coming up down the line, and Jousha Roy has come up and has looked pretty good so far, and he looks to be a steal. Bergiven didn't leave this team in the best shape, so it's still taking some time to clean the mess he left behind.

not mentioning Hutson and doubting Mailloux is wild

Love this video keep up the good work!!!

IMO, might not be in the playoff next year, but they better start showing progression after that

Sam Montembeault was the difference between a top 3 draft pic and a top 5 draft pic last year. The worry is if he regresses right when the team is ready to compete or not.

On defense, you have Hutson, Mailloux and Reinbacher coming soon. Very overcrowded with talented kids. And Mesar and Beck on offense a couple years away. So I'd say they are 2 years behind Detroit. 25-26 season should see the rise of the Montreal Canadian.

Well done I agree with your analysis 💯 %

Great rebuild review, Shannon! I think next season will be the turning point of this rebuild. We’re seeing multiple young players coming into their own this year, and prospects are getting ice time with the Big Club & Laval. There’s a decent starter in Montembault, even if he’s not a top 10 goalie. The lack of an explosive forward has been the club’s Achilles Heel for, what, over two decades? If we can get one in the next two seasons, I think the rebuild will be successful. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

Going into the offseason, I hear we have some 22 picks in the next two years. Players + picks can be used to get a impact player from another organization wanting to rebuild.

Oh thats a cool jersey

Finally a habs video!!

He said you don't know if my mailloux is gonna be in the NHL lol the guy is a beast, he's quick he's fast Scott, amazing hands and he hates everything that moves on the ice playing 25 minutes in Laval. Deer Hunter used in 30 minutes a game in the OHL playoffs. !!!!!

GM said in French interview about 2 or 3 years

Love that you covered this! Everyone wants to know till when. Keep matheson! Should of kept monahan

Very good analysis…

you did a good job i am a fan of montréal it is exacly the situation in montréal it gone a take more time then five years they are very young you got to teache them everything👍💯

great video♥️

Hutson and Fowler worth mentioning as well

Newhook and Dach injuries clipped them, but they desperately need a dynamic forward, a 1 st liner who plays big, or has elite all-round skill. They have a lot of vets who filing chairs that developing players should be using. 3 years of good GM and coaching work, and patience.

Lane Hutson, Beck, Mesar, Reinbacher, Roy, Barron, Mailloux, are all looking great. Slaf is lighting it up right now, Dach was playing well before injury, Newhook looks like a terrific 3C, Caufield, Suzuki, good goalie prospects, and a very young team. Also, they have 4 1st round picks in the next 2 years. Habs will be gangsta in 2-3 yrs.

Also seen clips of that Lane Hutson playing for BU. Looking forward to see him cause at times he gives me the impression that he can control a game. But then again this is NCAA and not NHL but it's an encouraging sign.

So the habs are a couple years in to this rebuild just because Bergevin at the end was forced to draft some players and he made the deal for Suzuki. He drafted Caufield, Struble, Pinard, Guhle, Dobes, Mysak, Norlinder in his last couple years in charge. He Did Get Mailloux, Joshua Roy, and Kidney. We have added Slafkovsky, Hutson, Mesar Beck Reinbacher and Fowler since he left. The team right now is fifth worst in goals scoring. They are sixth worst in goals against. We have perhaps a second line center in Suzuki and a top six forward in Caufield. Guhle looks like a top pairing defenseman. There are another group of NHL defensemen who can play a role :Harris, Kovacevic, Barron? , Struble, Xhekaj who could play a role on a better team. We have forwards in Slafkovsky, Pinard who might play a bigger role and prospects like Beck and Joshua Roy who look promising. Complete prospects like Hutson and Reinbacher, Mesar and Fowler and Dobes who may become important. Team Lacks 1. a first line center 2. A first line sniper 3. A #1 stud defenseman 4. Power play quarterback and #1 offensive defenseman 5 Starting goalie. Montreal is missing the entire top end of a very good roster. Laine Hutson maybe fills the 4 slot. Dobes or Fowler maybe are the goalie. Maybe Slafkovsky or Caufield fill the sniper slot and supply another top six scorer? Even if all that were to work out we still have a lot of holes to fill, but most especially that #1 center Anze Koptar-like and that #1 Defenseman Drew Doughty-like that leads you to victory. I'm going to say that despite all this groundwork Montreal is still three years away of being repeatedly relevant which I think is the goal.

You quickly mention Logan Mailloux, but keep an eye on Lane Hutson and Joshua Roy. Those two will be a big part of the rebuild.

gotta get jackeye in there to make room for the crafty kids

Don't forget about Newhook! He looked phenomenal before he got hurt

That’s a gorgeous sweater! (And yes, that IS a sweater rather than a jersey😅)

Montréal is in phase 2 of rebuild, meaning there stacking less prospect in the next draft and building more the future core. If you look at the depth chart, it's clear the problem is in offense, they need at least 3 more young talented prospect. The first line of Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky is great, but they need to build a second one and as much as i like Roy Mesar, Beck, Dach and Newhook, i'm not convinced yet. In defense, it's stack like crazy, first come, first served ! I have never see that much talented depth for a long time in defense ! Most of the top prospect play in other league but Hutson, Rienbacher, Engstrom and Konyushkov are gems ! In the net, it's the great mystery but i like how Dobes and Fowler are developing, plus Primeau and Montembeault have some great flash ! This year it's stil ok to lose, next year we change gears !

I agree with the Habs missing a young star explosive forward. I really hope they manage to build that will remain a solid Cup contender for a few years at least, like the current Bruins or the past Lightning

The standings always reflect the truth behind any rebuild

7 points back of the Leafs which is a supposed perennial contender.

“Detroit coming out of theirs” oh baby that sounded good. It’s about time.

this team gonna be crazy in a few years

I think, realistically, next year they're fighting for a wildcard spot. 25/26 they'll be a playoff team but it'll be a third or fourth year with a few more offensive additions before they'll contend for a Cup.

Go Habs Go 🔵⚪️🔴

nice jersey sir

Now that Hughes has cleaned up most of the cap MESS that he inherited...he can begin to build a CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM ..and assess who to add and who to trade ..!! Trust in this management team ...they know what they're doing !!😊😊😊

Hey it’s Joe Schmo from Kokomo!!!

The goalies should be a strength of this team game by game , building capable goalies who can start, prospects who are playing well also.

The rebuild is going well, but it's onvious what the Habs are still severely lacking, apart from experience for the young players: Offensive talent. I still consider the 2023 draft to be a blunder, even if Reinbacher evolves into an elite D (to be paired with Hutson in the future). Joshua Roy is looking promising on the wing and a steal at the draft, at least. MTL desperately needs more consistent goal scoring and above all, better centers. Monahan is really good, but he isn't gonna be our center in the future and even when Dach comes back (not before January 2025, at best, due to the type of injury he has to recover from), this team is always just one injured center away from falling apart, in my opinion. The center depth just isn't there at the moment. A quick look at discussion forums will show that a solid chunk of the fan base is sick and tired about the Habs not featuring an offensive superstar for the last 3 decades at least. The team is looking good in front of the net. Montembeault is turning into a solid starter and if Primeau doesn't pan out, we still got Fowler on the way (note that the Preds were apparently willing to trade Askarov and 2 picks to the Habs for 5th overall, so that's added pressure on Reinbacher moving forward). The D is gonna be fantastic in the future. The main question right now is about which veteran D to move. Matheson or Savard? They both fill the role of the veteran leader for the young D. Looking at Laval these last few weeks, a great chemistry is cooking between Xhekaj and Mailloux, so they're probably gonna become our 3rd pair for years to come. Us fans really want our sheriff Xhekaj back (especially when pkaying against Ottawa), but playing in Laval with Mailloux seems to work great for X so far. Xhekaj and Mailloux will likely start the season in MTL next season. Both Barron and Harris will probably get traded at some point and are not seen as long term players in MTL. Barron just got sent down to Laval. Stephens has been placed on waivers, so that's where his "trade value" is right now. Monahan should logically be worth at least a 1st round pick, and/or a young center prospect. I don't know what we can get for Allen. Probably a 2nd round pick, if pitched to the right team searching for a backup goalie. Pearson is coming back soon it seems, so if he plays well, we should be able to deal him at the trade deadline. One last thing before I end this report: Arber Xhekaj's little brother, Florian Xhekaj, will probably play on the 4th line for the Habs in a few years in the future. Good energy player who showed a notable improvement in his production since last season. He reached his production from last year in only half the time, something I consider worth mentioning. Have a nice day. Your channel rocks!

Very good summation of the Habs rebuild, but I would say the Rebuild began in earnest when Martin St. Louis was hired on Feb 9th, 2022, and I see this rebuild as completing its 2nd year in a few weeks from now. A Major concern is the structure of Habs Contracts is not conducive to good buyout terms. Quebec is the highest taxed jurisdiction in North America, and to compensate the Habs have to sign contracts heavy on bonus money, which is taxed at a lower rate in Quebec. This means guaranteed money and buyout terms are such that they have minimal cap advantage should they want to buyout a contract. Thankfully they didn't trade for PLD or Huberdeau!😬

Lane hutson is the most excited thing here, not even mentionned... but otherwise very great video

This team has some good pieces in place. Please stay the course and draft/develop. No need to rush things like the leafs did with JT.

Lane Hutson and Cam Fawler are the 2 young who assure the futur for montreal

Alex Newhook , Lane Hutson ,Jacob Fowler ,Bogdan Konyushkov are some other names to watch out for and they may have another top 5 pick in the upcoming draph

Newhook was starting to do good as well before his injury

Lane hutson will pass harris struble and arber when they sign him.

Still 2-3 years from the real team. Could sneak in before then. A true shut down D-man and a big-name C would put them in the hunt. Cap and free agency with Monsieur St. Louis to play for, will make them a true contender. Montembeault as a backup would be pure luxury. Kent knows what he's doing. This could be team that Habs fans have been waiting patiently for.

What about Alex newhook andHutson? Or mailloux?

I think this year they pick up another nice piece and then they need to stay healthy and away we go ! GHG

Can't believe you made a video on the habs rebuild and future and didn't even mention guys like Roy, HUTSON, Fowler and Mesar

Dach was looking so fucking nasty game 1 vs Toronto. Slaf-Dach-Newhook was a very strong line for us at the time. Only lasted for 1 game though which is terrible luck. Team most likely would have a couple extra wins with him in the lineup and the team would a lot more confidence I think. I love where our young players are at though, Slaf-Suzuki-Caufield has been insanely good for us and is finally looking like a real 1st line which is something Habs haven’t had in years. All of the young Dman are extremely impressive too, Struble most notably of late showing he a strong physical presence while also maintaining consistent play in both ends of the ice.

Forgot Newhook and Hutson

Lots of rumors associated with Montreal trading for Trevor Zegras and he could be that talked about explosive forward. Knows and has played with Caulfield as well so that's a bonus. However we'd probably have to give up a kings ransom to aquire him.

THG: Rebuild Rater.

I feel like Hutson and Roy are really underrated prospects.

why do u think suzuki will be in the second line? he's only 24 he can still improve and he's already really good!

I know you won't answer - but how the heck do you write so neatly on that board! Lol. I have the same board and I can't imagine writing it so clean and organized like that !

No mention of Beck, Mesar or Hutson?

No mention of Lane Hutson, really?

At the VERY LEAST next year before making the playoffs again , looking more like the year after. Canadiens right now need to stay the course. A tightening of team defense will be the big necessity for the young guys to learn.

Slaf has made huge strides this year. The first 20-25 games you coukd see him just trying to figure out how to play. Since then hes been excellent. With newhook,dach and slaf they will have a competitive top 6. I agree that they need another top forward though to really push them over the hump. Suzuki will be in prime years next season and caufeild the year after. They are both continuing upward trends. And suzuki has been mentioned mulitple times by different analysts as a sleeper selke nom this year. Hes been fantastic on a bad team.

The only thing worth talking about with Montreal's rebuild is that in 2-3 years : Hutson - Mailloux Guhle - Reinbacher

Guhle, Struble, Xhekaj, Hutson, Reinbacher and Mailloux would be my ideal top 6 defensemen in the next few years. Matheson has more direct assists to the other team for goals against than he has goals for himself. He's constantly turning the puck over, move him whenever there's a chance.

Also lost Danault & Perry in trades.. There were a few other injuries on lesser players.

*Don't forget : L. Hutson. Should be a gem

Forgot to mention Newhook as well

So I would take Makar for several reasons however I do understand why people would vote the other way. I don’t value goals and assist the same though. Especially when you get a point for primary assist or secondary assist. A goal is way more valuable then a secondary assist and Makar gets more goals. He also has a bigger overall impact on the ice on both ends.

After this last year though they went 12-21-3 i dont think that will happen this year

Don't forget Newhook is just 22 also.

Newhook and Dach would’ve made this team an almost playoff team . It’s not hard mtl would probably be 23-18-8 or something like that which this years makes a huge huge difference in the standings 😅

Key questions for this team are: 1) What will Lane Hutson and Kayden Guhle actually become versus what they project to; ie are they really top pairing Dmen? 2) Is anyone in the system an actual #1 center (Owen Beck looks to be a 2 or 3 and is great as Suzuki is for this team, he is a number 2 center on many teams)? 3) Is Montembault as good as he appears to be? Caufield can score and is legit top 3 or top 6. Anderson is inconsistent. The rest (Dach, Newhook, Slafkovsky, etc) is just noise until they are sure they have a top pair, a true number one center and that the goaltending is truly sorted as it appears to be

Even now, Us Habs can STILL beat them leaffer Regular Season Superstars in a 7 game serie. Super Team has only 4 more wins than Us Habs rebuilding team. Us Habs do not have three 90+ point scorers, only 4 less wins.