Since Alexandre Carrier’s arrival, the Habs are fourth in the NHL

Michaël Petit
Since Alexandre Carrier’s arrival, the Habs are fourth in the NHL
Credit: Getty Images

Despite all the injuries to the Montreal Canadiens, the club is doing quite well. In fact, very well.

Multiple injuries are nothing new for the Habs, who are often among the teams with the most injuries, season after season.

Despite all this, Martin St-Louis' team is doing very well, ranking 7th in the NHL.

But the team's success is nothing new. Since a very specific date, everything has been going swimmingly (or almost) for the Habs.

Indeed, December 18, 2024 represents the date of acquisition of Alexandre Carrier, who is clearly a big help to the Habs' defensive brigade.

In fact, as Renaud Lavoie mentioned on BPM Sports today, since that date, the Montreal club ranks 4th in the entire league.

In those 93 games, Montreal amassed 116 points (tied with the Washington Capitals), with only the Tampa Bay Lightning (121 points), Dallas Stars (129 points), and Colorado Avalanche (135 points) ahead of them.

Even though there have been several injuries during this 93-game period, the Habs are clearly one of the best teams in the Bettman circuit.

It's no coincidence, in the words of Renaud Lavoie, that there are only three teams better than the Habs in this period. In fact, these are the three teams (four including the Capitals) against which Martin St-Louis' team has the most trouble in the regular season.

Is Montreal already among the NHL's elite? The rest of the season will tell, but I have a good feeling they are.

Interestingly, the Habs haven't lost in regulation time on the road since the Colorado game last November. We certainly can't take the club for granted.

Of course, as we saw last spring, the Habs can get a little carried away in the playoffs. But to date (with a healthy team), the Habs are better than they were at the end of last season.

We should also add that there could be an addition (or additions) between now and the trade deadline. And we can't rule out the possibility of Michael Hage playing a few games at the very end of the season, after his NCAA campaign.

However, the Canadiens could opt for the same scenario they did with Jacob Fowler, i.e., a one-way ticket to Laval to help out the Rocket.

From what we've seen in the World Junior Championship, I don't see why the Montreal club would opt to send Hage to Laval (unless he doesn't want to run out a year on his contract).

In short, I can't wait to see what Kent Hughes does with his club and if he can be more competitive in the playoffs than last year.


In Overtime

– It's going to take a lot of confidence from the Slovaks to beat Canada tonight.

– Good news for Lane Hutson's little brother.

– I really don't understand this one. He thoroughly deserved his spot.

– Read more.

– Indeed, Scottie Barnes is having quite a season.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!