Welcome to the THW Montreal Canadiens Substack newsletter, with all the latest from our team of Canadiens writers.
In today’s edition, we take a look at what the Habs need to do to get Josh Anderson going, which of their prospects are worth signing in 2024, and more.
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Canadiens Need to Make Changes to Help Josh Anderson Reboot
November 27, 2023 by Blain Potvin
The Montreal Canadiens’ 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster for the fans, and for the team on the ice. After a strong start to the season, Montreal started to have problems with consistency. Short winning streaks, followed by losing games at times for a lack of skill and others for a lack of attention to detail.
This up-and-down, inconsistent version of the Canadiens has been frustrating, but that is part of the rebuilding process of a team that is still learning. For Josh Anderson however, the peaks and valleys are not due to youth or inexperience. For him, it is a problem that needs to be attended to on the ice, before it becomes a problem general manager (GM) Kent Hughes needs to address off of it.
Habs Prospect Report: Mesar, Xhekaj & Guindon
November 26, 2023 by Michael DeRosa
Welcome to the THW Montreal Canadiens Substack’s latest Habs Prospect Report. In today’s (Nov. 26) edition, we will be focusing on Filip Mesar, Florian Xhekaj, and Cedrick Guindon.
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Injured Canadiens in 2023-24 the Habs Miss the Most
November 27, 2023 by Ryan Szporer
It’s not necessarily the number of Montreal Canadiens injuries, but the players who are injured. The last few seasons, the Habs have experienced the worst of both worlds, setting man-games lost records to the point it seemed like captain Nick Suzuki was the only one to escape unscathed.
At the very least, there seem to be fewer Canadiens injuries in 2023-24, so far anyway. The season is still young, but it’s far along enough for most to realize the Habs don’t have the organizational depth they need to regularly compete against the NHL’s top-tier teams.
If the Canadiens were completely healthy? Maybe. However, having resorted to several significant call-ups up to now, they’re not the same team on paper they were to start the season, when hopes were high, perhaps unrealistically so, they could make a push for a playoff spot. With that, here are the injuries they’re facing right now (goalie Carey Price excluded), ranked in terms of their significance to the team:
Canadiens Prospects Worth Signing in 2024
November 26, 2023 by Blain Potvin
Even though the 2023-24 season is only one-quarter of the way done, there is still a need for the Montreal Canadiens to look ahead to the offseason of 2024. The rebuild is far from over, and difficult choices are coming for general manager (GM) Kent Hughes and his staff. Who stays and who goes from the NHL club is one thing, but now he faces a challenge to look into the future and see which prospects are worth keeping.
Despite the sheer volume of prospects in the system, the Habs cannot miss out on any impact players, even if it is a long shot. In the summer of 2024, Hughes must decide if any of the seven prospects whose rights expire in the 2024 offseason are worthy of a contract or don’t fit into the Canadiens’ future. Here is a look at those players on the Canadiens reserve list whose rights expire in 2024 that could be a fit for Montreal in the future.