The Buffalo Sabres will play the Montreal Canadiens four times in 2023-24. How much of an edge do they have over their division rivals?
Much like the Buffalo Sabres and the Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Canadiens saw little turbulence in the way of roster turnover. They added just one notable player in Alex Newhook, and drafted David Reinbacher, who could be ready for the NHL this season. But whether he returns for another year in NL, goes to the AHL, or makes the inevitable jump to the big leagues is still a mystery.
This means, given the way the Canadiens finished in the Atlantic Division’s basement last season, the same will likely occur in 2023-24. But hey, this is the right method that the team is on, considering they continue building through the prospects pool and by acquiring young players, not much different from what we’ve seen from Kevyn Adams with the Sabres.
Montreal Canadiens will be light years behind the Buffalo Sabres
Despite the bleak outlook, there is a core of forwards brewing in Montreal, with Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Cole Caulfield factoring in as the most recognizable names. Suzuki is coming off of a career high 66 points and 26 goals, and the man who turned 24 years old on the day of this writing will only get better as time passes.
Caulfield may be small, but he is an incredible shooter, having knocked down 26 goals in just 46 games last season and a shooting percentage of 16.5%. He was rather reckless with the puck with 23 giveaways, but the 22-year-old is nonetheless one to watch this year.
While Caulfield lacks ideal size, that isn’t the case with Slafkovsky, but he needs to improve on his 39-game sample size from last season. However, with just 10 points, he was, overall, a disappointment before he was lost for the season due to injury.
Perhaps Reinbacher joins that group and takes up a prominent spot on the blue line this season? And maybe Newhook becomes a viable puzzle piece to that brewing core? It won’t be long until we find out.
Overall, the Canadiens have something brewing, but it’s in the way too early stages for anyone to claim high expectations this season. The Buffalo Sabres should have an easier time against their rivals from across the border this year while the Habs set their sights on 2024-25 or perhaps even 2025-26.
Source: Atlantic Division summer outlook: Are Sabres at the top of the ‘rebuilders’ group? by Mike Harrington, Buffalo News
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)