Point per game in Canada: the Canadiens look (very) bad

As everyone knows, it’s been ages since the Montreal Canadiens have had a player score at least one point per game over a full season.

No, Kirby Dach’s two points in two games doesn’t change that.

Alexei Kovalev was the last Habs player to score at least one point per game in a full season, having scored 84 points in 2007-2008.

It’s a statistic that makes the Habs look very bad, especially when compared with other Canadian teams.

In fact, in the last ten years, every other Canadian team has had at least six point-per-game seasons by a player.

Honestly, it’s really shocking and frustrating to look at this chart.

What seems to be a normality, or at least almost across all Canadian teams, is something that seems impossible in Montreal, and has been for many years (16 years to be precise).

The Habs look terrible, and frankly, it’s not a pleasant statistic for Habs fans to watch every season.

Looking at this table, you’d think the Habs were the worst Canadian team in terms of regular-season and playoff success.

Well, no, on the contrary, the Habs are at the top, having won ten playoff series since 2008, the highest total for a Canadian team.

So, despite the absence of offensive stars, the Habs were still successful.

We can clearly say a big thank you to Carey Price.

Still, playoff success without a Stanley Cup doesn’t amount to much.

And unfortunately for the Habs, every playoff run always seemed to be missing something, and that something was one or more stars.

Fortunately for the Habs, this problem may soon be remedied.

In fact, the Habs could soon have a player (or even more) capable of producing at least one point per game.

Nick Suzuki came close last season, and Juraj Slafkovsky will continue to develop and could come close.

However, THE real star for the Habs could be Ivan Demidov.

The young Russian prodigy is the best prospect the Habs have had in a long, long time, and he could finally free Habs fans from their 16 years of starless misery.

In short, it’s all hope and prediction, but for now, Demidov’s potential inspires confidence.

I leave you with RobTalksHockey’s excellent YouTube video, which I invite you to listen to in its entirety.

Overtime

– Michael Hage has arrived at the University of Michigan.

– Nice goal from the Habs prospect.

– Lando Norris wins the Dutch Grand Prix 20 seconds (!) ahead of Max Verstappen. He moves a step closer to Verstappen in the drivers’ championship.