Fan Focus | Riding the Wave of Fan Expectations, Canadiens, Habs, Stanley Cup, Playoffs, Marc Bergevin, Jake Allen, Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, Joel Edmundson
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ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — With the first game of the 2020-21 NHL campaign completed, is it time to start talking about tempering expectations for the upcoming season?
Wait, pumping the brakes already? I hear you. But bear with me.
This season has serious potential, and it’s time. Let’s put this team on our back. Let’s go all in and believe! 1993 was a very long time ago. It’s been 28 years since the Montreal Canadiens hoisted the Cup of Lord Stanley.
Making the Playoffs
As Canadiens fans, many consider the Cup drought has been an utter failure but I believe the last 28 years have been laying the groundwork for the hunger to show up in this organization again.
When you win as often as Canadiens clubs of the past, perhaps there is a belief that the team will simply continue to be successful. This organization went from the winningest in the league and having a winner’s mentality to setting a goal of “let’s just make the playoffs.”
That’s not good enough. Not for me.
It’s a goal that is not good enough for fellow fans and the players alike. Set the expectation. The Stanley Cup should be the goal, so make it the true objective.
There is a lot to be excited about this team’s potential. It’s apparent to me that Marc Bergevin thinks so too.
A Taste of Success
This summer, the players entered the return-to play bubble with a hunger. Finishing 24th in the league after the regular season, many argued the Habs didn’t belong. But on the backs of Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher and Shea Weber, the Montreal Canadiens showed up ready to take advantage of this weird opportunity. The opportunity to say ‘making the playoffs isn’t good enough.’
The players proved their desire to win, not to simply make the playoffs. Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi stepped up in their roles down the middle. Brett Kulak solidified himself as a player capable of middle pairing minutes. Gallagher, as usual, showed the team what putting it all on the line means suffering a broken jaw prior to the Habs elimination from the playoffs by Philadelphia.
The team that entered the Toronto bubble as the last team, ‘not worthy,’ left the bubble in August sending a clear message. The heart wasn’t missing, the pride wasn’t missing, and quality centers finally weren’t missing. But they needed some offensive help and a tougher defence.
Bergevin was forced to re-evaluate if just making the playoffs would be good enough going into 2021 or if he needed to start spending his accrued salary cap. It didn’t take long for the general manager to start making moves.
Bergevin heard the message his players were sending loud and clear. It was time to start spending. Initial moves had fans scratching their heads.
Filling Holes in the Offseason
On September 2nd, the general manager acquired Jake Allen and a draft pick in the seventh round of the 2022 draft in exchange for a 2020 third and a 2020 seventh round pick. Why add another goalie with the likes of Michael McNiven, Charlie Lindgren and Cayden Primeau coming up between the pipes?
The next move, on September 12th, seemed even more murky when a 2020 fifth round pick was sent to Carolina for the rights to Joel Edmundson, who was set to become a free agent in the upcoming month.
I was a big fan of these moves. Sending the draft pick for Edmundson showed how serious Bergevin was about acquiring exactly what the team needed in the 6-foot-4-inch, 227-pound defenceman.
Bergevin was making a statement that the team was going to have a bigger, stronger and tougher back end to play against. It was also a great tactic to avoid a bidding war come free agency. It was pro-active and something that has been missing over the years, in my view.
Despite the talent coming up from the minors in goal, a backup for Price was needed. The doors were left open for too many years for someone to step in and make an immediate impact.
On October 6th, it became clear that Bergevin wasn’t satisfied yet either. Max Domi, a spark plug and energy player, was moved to acquire more speed, size and grit in Josh Anderson. Domi who was acquired to provide talent and points down the middle of the ice became an expendable asset as his points dried up, finding himself on the fourth line in the bubble. On October 13th, the acquisition of Anderson was followed up with the free agent signing of Tyler Toffoli.
New Expectations
What do all these moves mean? The Habs lost to the Leafs on opening night, Is it time to throw in the towel? This team is good on paper but what else has changed?
To me, it is the message that has changed. It is no longer good enough to simply make the playoffs nor is it good enough to sit on salary cap surplus. This is not going to be the year to temper expectations. As fans, it’s time we jump into this season with high hopes and expectations.
The players, management and coaches are all in. Let’s go ‘all-in’ too!
By Carly Prawdzik, Guest Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
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