Does Montreal make the playoffs in 2021-2022?

[Aashir Mallik]

Who cares, they are in the cup finals currently.

 

[Habano]

I changed my mind. I say no! They're gonna finish dead last by at least 75 points and the franchise will be relocated to Jackson, Mississippi.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Leafs might not be a shoe-in either.

Why not?

 

[Bouboumaster]

It won't matter if we win the cup this year.

I'm all in a couple of years of pure suckage if it means a Stanley Cup in 2021

It would be worth it.

 

[Captain97]

Something I think most people are forgetting we didn't have Caufield for most of the season. We also had the following players injured for decent stretches of time:

Gallagher - 21 games
Weber - 8 games
Chiarot - 15 games
Drouin - 12 games
Price - ~ 30 games

(He played 17, but was healthy for some of allens starts).

I think there is a very hood chance they make the playoffs next year.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Why is everyone so mad at Montreal? Lol.

I don’t think mad is the right word. Their fans are getting arrogant and a lot of people still view them as a mediocre team that made a great run yet still shouldn’t have made the playoffs without tyrannical policies that made the playoff format what it was.

 

[majormajor]

I think so with Suzuki, Caufield, KK, Romanov being a year older and gaining a TON of experience right now. Question is whether the big 4 on D can do what theyre doing over 82 games. I dont think theyll be a top 5 seed, but 6-8th is a definite possibility.

Boston may be a little worse with Rask and Krejci leaving. Im not convinced FLA will repeat, but definitely could. PIT and WSH's elite core are a year older, but still great.... Philly and NYR are the big question marks for me.

TB
CAR
TOR
NYI
WSH
PIT
BOS
MTL

FLA
NYR
PHI
OTT
DET
CBJ
NJD
BUF

Even putting the Habs over the Panthers or the Rangers is a really tough call. I'm not low on the Habs, the conference is just brutal. There's a good chance that this is finally the year that one of Washington or Pittsburgh can't keep up.

 

[kabidjan18]

Depends on if they can keep the 4 on the blue line. If yes, then yes. If no, then no.

 

[GoLeafsGo96]

Depends on if they can keep the 4 on the blue line. If yes, then yes. If no, then no.

Its interesting honestly. I feel like the Habs have a team that as a whole does well in tight checking playoff-type games. In the regular season, I think their D get a little more exposed (and end up taking more penalties).

The Habs for the last few years have always been a solid possession team, they really were hurt by bad special teams and goaltending. Caufield should help their PP moving forward you would think, so maybe that is the answer to that.

I think their PK has been awesome in the playoffs (mostly due to Price) but likely not sustainable even if Price has a good year.

FWIW I have them in as the 1st/2nd wildcard, I just thought it was an interesting question. I think it goes to show how important goaltending really is - if you get elite goaltending you can beat anyone any night. If you get below average goaltending throughout the regular season - its going to be damn hard to have any success.

 

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

No unless they add a solid top 6 C or offensive threat for next year. Price is not young enough to be elite regular season goalie anymore, MTL will need to score with the best of em next year to make it to the dance.

 

[Flair Hay]

It's hard to say. Can't really gauge the value of the confidence of winning a SC would do.

This. if they win, I'd expect a top 4 or 5 seed.

If they lose, they may not even make it. It's a weird psychological thing. Teams that lose in the finals seem to almost always struggle the next season I find.

I hav nothing scientific, but I imagine it's such a blow that it is hard to get yourself up to the absolute peak level you need to be at to go 4 rounds.

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Where is the option "how about we wait until the off season is over to see what moves were made?"

 

[LOFIN]

Where is the option "how about we wait until the off season is over to see what moves were made?"

Then again, what moves do you expect the Canadiens to do?

Even if they retain everyone, including Danault, I still don't think they make the playoffs. Yes, have been playing great this post season, but during the regular season Montreal was a mess. And it was the same story last year, where they activated in the bubble, having been the #24 team during the regular season.

Now, granted Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Caufield will make a difference, but how big that difference will be? Suzuki and Kotkaniemi were said to make a difference this season after their great playoff run against Pittsburgh. Yes, they stepped it up in the playoffs (Jesperi especially), but the regular season was unimpressive to say the least.

I know you are in the middle of the SC finals, but what do you expect the Canadiens to do in the offseason? Can they resign Danault?

 

[POVERTY]

Of course, they've established themselves as the 1st or 2nd best team in the NHL. Absolutely they will make it.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

If they win the cup obviously it doesn't matter if they miss next year - you take that any day of the week but I'm curious where the Vegas odds will sit.

Tampa, Boston, Florida, Toronto in a tough division.

Can't let it go, GoLeafsGo96 ?

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

i'd lean towards no but I guess you never know with injuries player development etc

they definitely wouldn't have made it this year in anything resembling a normal year though that much is for sure

Why?

Would not that compressed schedule they had for the second hald (25 games in 44 nights) explain a lot?

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

what??

What?

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

I don’t think mad is the right word. Their fans are getting arrogant and a lot of people still view them as a mediocre team that made a great run yet still shouldn’t have made the playoffs without tyrannical policies that made the playoff format what it was.

What tyrannical policies?

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Then again, what moves do you expect the Canadiens to do?

Expansion draft is coming, they probably won't keep Tatar and Drouin which would free up some money, maybe trades? A lot can happen.
It's also what moves will the other teams be making? No team will have an identical roster next season, Some teams will improve, some wont. So many moving parts it's useless making predictions right now.

Even if they retain everyone, including Danault, I still don't think they make the playoffs. Yes, have been playing great this post season, but during the regular season Montreal was a mess. And it was the same story last year, where they activated in the bubble, having been the #24 team during the regular season.

Maybe, just maybe, playing 25 games in 43 days impacted them negatively to some extent, no? Little time for rest or for practices. In a non-Covid season, that doesn't happen again.
And they might have finished 24th the previous season but they added Anderson, Toffoli, Edmundson, Perry, Allen and now Caufield. That's not quite the same team anymore, is it?

Now, granted Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Caufield will make a difference, but how big that difference will be? Suzuki and Kotkaniemi were said to make a difference this season after their great playoff run against Pittsburgh. Yes, they stepped it up in the playoffs (Jesperi especially), but the regular season was unimpressive to say the least.

Suzuki (21) and Kotkaniemi (20) are young and will develop consistency as they mature. These playoffs will probably give them a boost of maturity that will make a difference next year. Do you truly expect them to never improve? Many players took a few years in the league before achieving their potential.
As for Caufield, he's the X factor. He seems to excel immediately at every level. Will be interesting to see the kind of season he gets next year.


TLDR: Way to early to make any kind of predictions, too many things can and will happen.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

Close to zero percent chance of that happening.

 

[ricky0034]

Why?

Would not that compressed schedule they had for the second hald (25 games in 44 nights) explain a lot?

Montreal literally has the lowest points per game of ANY team to make the Playoffs in the 16 seasons that the current point system has existed

AND they had a negative goal differential AND their ordinary division would have been much stronger competition to make the Playoffs than what they ended up with this year(Edmonton and Winnipeg is nothing compared to Boston and Tampa and then you're looking at Florida instead of Calgary which is also much stronger)

 

[HabsAddict]

We're lucky to make the AHL playoffs.

Heck, we're lucky that hockey is even a thing in Quebec.

We'll try harder.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Montreal literally has the lowest points per game of ANY team to make the Playoffs in the 16 seasons that the current point system has existed

AND they had a negative goal differential AND their ordinary division would have been much stronger competition to make the Playoffs than what they ended up with this year(Edmonton and Winnipeg is nothing compared to Boston and Tampa and then you're looking at Florida instead of Calgary which is also much stronger)

This really adresses the post you were quoting...

 

[EdJovanovski]

I don't think so

 

[Pyrophorus]

f*** no!