CH home opener: Connor Bedard is the one to beat

After last night’s individual honours and before tomorrow’s draft, this afternoon the NHL unveiled its schedule for the 2023-24 season. Naturally, we’ve been keeping an eye on what the Canadiens’ schedule will look like.

For those interested, here it is in its entirety:

Once again, the Tricolore’s first game of the season will take place in Toronto. It’s almost a classic now.

But it’s the second game in particular that’s causing a stir, as the CH welcome Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks to the Bell Centre for their home opener. We’re talking about two teams who were in the bottom half of the standings last year, but clearly, this will be a game to watch.

Barring a huge surprise, Bedard will be on the Blackhawks’ roster next year, which means he’ll definitely be on the ice at the Bell Centre on October 14. And clearly, this will be a great gift for the fans in attendance (even if he won’t be wearing the “right” jersey).

Speaking of Bedard, he’ll be on the road quite a bit at the start of the season. His first five NHL games will be on the road (Pittsburgh, Boston, Montreal, Toronto and Denver), as the NHL obviously wants to expose him to big markets quickly.

It seems to me that I would have at least allowed him to play in front of his fans sooner, but oh well.

The other aspect that is still attracting attention is the long journey that awaits the club over the holiday season. Between December 16 and January 13 (almost a full month), the club will be on the road, and just before Christmas, it will be in another time zone.

At least he’ll get a few days off around Christmas, and the fact that he won’t be in action on December 23 means he’ll be able to leave a little early (ironically, he’ll be leaving Chicago and, once again, Connor Bedard).

In short, it won’t be long before we see Connor Bedard in action in Montreal. Can’t wait to see what he has in store for the fans that night.

Extension

On October 24, the NHL has scheduled 16 games, all of which will be delayed by at least 15 minutes. This is an excellent idea, as it will allow the games to be a little more airy and not all scheduled at the same time.