Here are the Canadiens’ wishes for 2024

About 24 months ago, the Habs were cleaning house on the second floor. Marc Bergevin took the fall and, ultimately, Dominique Ducharme also lost his job.

Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis arrived to rebuild the club. Good steps have been taken in that direction, but there’s obviously still work to be done.

Here are just a few of the things the in-house staff need to do to keep moving forward.

1. It’s a classic, but when January 1st rolls around, we all wish each other good health. But at the Habs, this is even truer than elsewhere because of the circumstances surrounding the club.

We’ll start with health, and then go for academic success. One step at a time.

2. The #1 issue of the early season is still unresolved: the ménage à trois in front of the net. If I’d told you in October that we’d still be at this point at Christmas, you wouldn’t have believed me.

And yet…

3. If there’s one thing we’re noticing, it’s the fact that the Habs lack pure talent up front. It’s going to take a player capable of helping out in that department before long.

Why not draft him in six months’ time with the club’s first-round pick?

4. Eventually, the Canadiens will have to trade a defenseman. And when I say a defenseman, I mean at least one defenseman, given the club’s surplus on the blue line.

Why not try to recreate the success that brought Kirby Dach to town for (indirectly) Alexander Romanov? Bringing in a talented forward wouldn’t hurt.

5. The Canadiens are rebuilding. Why not try for another first-round pick in 2024? Whether by trading next years’ picks or current players, it would be a nice asset.

And with this pick, you’ll understand that the Habs should draft a talented forward. I’m thinking ahead…

6. Cole Caufield needs to give more. The Habs must clearly want the forward to be able to take his game to the next level and become the scorer he once was.

Let’s just say it would solve a lot of problems.

7. Nick Suzuki really isn’t a bad offensive player, but he’s not among the NHL’s elite either. This season, he has 30 points in 33 games and is approaching the point-per-game mark.

But for that, unlike 2022-2023, he’ll have to keep up the pace. Can he do it? Better still, can he pick up the pace?

8. David Reinbacher shouldn’t play late in the season in Switzerland. He doesn’t play for a powerhouse, and he could finish the season in Quebec, either Montreal or Laval.

Wouldn’t it be fun to see him finish the season with Lane Hutson?

One imagines that the Habs’ bosses no longer have to wish Josh Anderson a release, as he’s been scoring again in recent days. It’s a good deal done.

Management doesn’t have to wish for more scoring from its defense either, since the pace is already good. As long as it doesn’t slow down…

Extension

What do we wish for Martin St-Louis, Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton and the fans as a whole?

– St-Louis: that the guys continue to bring their game to the game. In other words, we hope his players continue to follow the coaching group’s game plan.

– Hughes/Gorton: may Sean Monahan be healthier than goalies across the NHL…

– We have to wish the fans progress and more and more victories. We must also hope that at the next golf tournament, the P-word will no longer be exactly taboo.