The Habs rank among the NHL’s best off-season

The Habs didn’t have the most active off-season in the NHL. Nobody in Tennessee thinks the Habs were more exciting than the Preds, let’s say.

Yes, Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage came to town… yes, Juraj Slafkovsky was signed long-term… but on the ice in October, it doesn’t make the club any better.

From Chicago to Winnipeg – ranking how much each team has improved (or declined) this offseason.https://t.co/fNZuKcHMXK

– dom (@domluszczyszyn) July 10, 2024

I won’t hide the fact that I thought it was high. After all, the Habs are the highest-ranked team to have, according to the journalist, no major additions to note on this fall’s roster.

I didn’t expect to see the Habs anywhere but in the bottom quarter of the standings. To see it in the top 16 means that improvements will come from within…

And that The Athletic columnist likes the quality of the club’s prospects.

Johnathan Kovacevic is replaceable defensively, and there’s a good chance the Habs can replace what he brings internally.

They have plenty of blue-line prospects ready to step up. – Dom Luszczyszyn

Since the Habs won’t have a different offense (aside from the return of Kirby Dach, who wasn’t mentioned in the text), it’s clear that the defense is the game-changer.

But above all, we mustn’t forget that the Lane Hutson, Logan Mailloux, Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher of this world, to name but a few, are changing the picture. And Dom Luszczyszyn seems to believe it.

Perhaps, too, not having made any mistakes (like giving Joel Edmundson four years with the state of his back in 2024) has helped the Habs’ cause?

Overtime

– They can come back to the NHL.

As of today, NHL teams are free to hire Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac and Joel Quenneville. They were reinstated on July 1.

Those men were previously ineligible to work as punishment for their inadequate response to sexual assault allegations brought forth by Kyle Beach in Chicago.

– Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 10, 2024