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Dans les coulisses

For the 4th time in its history, the Habs will be out of the playoffs for three consecutive seasons.

Nov 12, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki (14) celebrates with teammates including forward Cole Caufield (22) after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the third period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

This may not be news to you, but the Habs are currently rebuilding.

Although the organization’s prospect pool is very promising, the Montreal Canadiens are not expected to make the playoffs this spring.

The defense is very young, and the Habs’ top forwards are all under 25, including captain Nick Suzuki.

The future is bright in Montreal, and the current core will only gain experience and be competitive in the years to come.

Speaking of the young core, Suzuki and Cole Caufield have won more playoff rounds than the poor Toronto Maple Leafs in the last 20 years.

For now, it’s a different story.

Barring a major surprise, the Tricolore won’t be making the playoffs, and this will be the third time in a row they’ve missed out, following their appearance in the Stanley Cup Grand Final in 2021.

And when the season is officially over, the Habs will have missed the playoffs three seasons in a row for the fourth time in their history.

That’s what Jean-Charles Lajoie said in a recent article on TVA Sports.

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The last such sequence occurred in the 1998-1999, 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons.

It’s rather surprising that in the Habs’ 115-year history, they’ve been shut out of the playoffs three times in a row on only three other occasions in the past.

This was to be expected anyway, as since the departure of Shea Weber and the injury to Carey Price, the Habs have taken a completely new direction.

With the new management (Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton and Martin St-Louis, to name but a few) and the young core, we can expect it won’t be too long before the Sainte-Flanelle get back to it.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the picture next season, if the number of injuries can be reduced. If not next year, the 2025-2026 season will be the right one in my opinion, and the team should be competitive by then.

Can we finally hope for a Stanley Cup in Montreal in the next few years? Only time will tell.

Breaking news

– Who better than Patrick Kane to close out the overtime debate on his return to Chicago.

– Kane decided to play the comedian following his winning goal in Chicago.

– According to David Pagnotta, the Vegas Golden Knights are looking for a winger for the playoff race. Jake Guentzel and Vladimir Tarasenko are two of the most talked-about names in Vegas.

– Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been fined for his hit on Joel Hanley of the Dallas Stars.

РAfter Matt Rempe and Mathieu Olivier, J̩r̩my Lauzon and Sam Carrick got into a furious fight.