Window of Opportunity: The Canadiens Are the NHL’s Top-Ranked Team

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Window of Opportunity: The Canadiens Are the NHL’s Top-Ranked Team
Credit: Capture d'écran/YouTube

At times, The Athletic's rankings have infuriated Habs fans this summer.

But based on what was just presented this morning, I don't think Montreal fans will have any reason to be upset as training camp gets underway.

Why? Because the Habs are ranked highly in an article that ranks the NHL's windows of opportunity.

Scott Wheeler and Dom Luszczyszyn created a chart that ranks teams based on their present (the horizontal axis) and future (the vertical axis).

And as you can see, the Habs are right up in the top right corner. The Canadiens' present is rated an 8/10, and their future could hardly be any closer to a 10/10 than this.

Basically, the teams form a large circle that illustrates a team's cycles. A window opens and closes before a rebuild begins and ends.

Vancouver, for example, isn't in the same corner of the chart as the Canadiens.

In the “open window” category of the rankings, there are four clubs. And the site broke down the teams in the following order: the Canadiens, the Stars, the Wild, and the Hurricanes.

There are teams whose window is opening and others whose window is closing. But for the Habs and three other teams, the window is truly open.

And take a look at the rankings: Kent Hughes's Canadiens may not be on par with all those teams by 2026, but the club's future is far brighter than anyone else's.

Once the Canadiens add a second center and find a linemate for Lane Hutson… watch out for what that could lead to.


In a Nutshell

– Will Brad Marchand be back in time?

– Who's still a restricted free agent?

– Small contract.

– Must-read.

– He's back.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!