Who Will Be the Canadiens’ Best Players During the 2020s?

To say the Montreal Canadiens have had a whirlwind start to the 2020s would be a wild understatement. From becoming the first team in NHL history to finish in last place after making a Stanley Cup Final appearance the season prior to multiple consecutive bottom-five finishes, this decade is shaping up to be a roller coaster of a time period for the NHL’s winningest club.

What makes someone a great player within one franchise is ultimately a balanced combination of individual success, team success, leadership, longevity, influence, and legacy. This list has slightly less emphasis on the longevity and legacy aspects simply due to the much shorter time period on top of projecting what the remainder of the 2020s will look like for the team. In addition to this, projections for high-end prospects currently under contract with the team must be considered.

Unlike the previous decade, the Canadiens saw an influx of young talent emerge from their prospect pool and trade acquisitions as opposed to a team composed of mostly established veterans. Instead of the likes of Mike Cammalleri, Jaroslav Halak, or Brian Gionta, the team has relied on exciting young players such as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Samuel Montembeault. Keeping the future in mind, the following is a projection of the five best Canadiens of the 2020s in its entirety.

Honourable Mentions: Mike Matheson (2022-), Kaiden Guhle (2022-), Kirby Dach (2022-)

5. Samuel Montembeault, Goaltender #35 (2021-)

107 Games Played (GP), 37-47-14, 3.45 Goals-Against-Average (GAA), .899 Save Percentage (SV%)

The successor to Carey Price has earned himself a nice pay raise since being claimed off waivers from the Florida Panthers in 2021. Perhaps fans have grown too accustomed to the statistical dominance of a goaltender such as Price, though Montembeault’s stats won’t blow anyone away. Forced to play behind an extremely young and inexperienced (not to mention an often-injured) defensive corps despite little to no starting experience in the NHL, the Quebec native has asserted himself as the clear-cut starting goaltender ahead of Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau. He demonstrated his starting capabilities by capturing a gold medal with the 2023 Canadian World Championship team.

The 27-year-old has improved his numbers this season, sporting a 3.15 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage to go along with a sweet 13-10-5 record. For comparison, the other two rostered goalies (Allen and Primeau) are a combined 10-18-5. Montembeault has proven that he gives the team a greater chance to win when he is in the crease. Montembeault’s role as the starting goaltender is more ambiguous as the decade goes on, with prospects such as Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes climbing the ranks within the team’s system. Despite this, both of those prospects are likely several years away from being impact goaltenders at the NHL level.

4. Lane Hutson, Defenseman (2022 Second-Round Pick)

69 GP, 27 Goals (G), 60 Assists (A), 87 Points (PTS) *

* in two seasons at Boston University (NCAA)

Lane Hutson is perhaps the most highly-touted prospect in their system. The diminutive defender has followed a similar career trajectory as Caufield, falling to the Habs in his draft year due to his small stature and then proceeding to utterly dominate college hockey. Hutson scored 48 points in 39 games as a freshman in 2022-23, a scoring pace not seen since the likes of Brian Leetch nearly 40 years ago. With 39 points in just 30 games in 2023-24, he is on pace to exceed that mark. The agile defenseman has his sights set on the 2024 Hobey Baker Award, which Caufield won back in 2021.

Caufield scored 26 goals in just 46 games in 2022-23 (a 46-goal pace) before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. This season, he ranks second in team scoring and already boasts a career-high 48 points. He ranks second among team skaters in goals and points since 2020, despite not playing a full season until 2021-22. Look for Caufield to become a consistent 40-goal threat in the near future as the team begins to transition out of a rebuild.

1. Nick Suzuki, Center #14 (2020-)

281 GP, 86 G, 141 A, 227 PTS

While the 2020s have yet to feature a player as dominant among all-time Habs players as Price, current captain Nick Suzuki possesses all the makings of a true number-one centre — a need the team has been craving for numerous years. The Ontario League Hockey (OHL) product ranks first among skaters in games played, goals, assists, and points since 2020. He leads the second-place Caufield by a whopping 95 points. Suzuki also notably sports an impressive ironman streak dating back to the beginning of his career. He has improved his production in every season since entering the league in 2020-21, putting up a career-high 66 points in 2022-23 (his 2023-24 numbers are on pace to break that mark). The three-time All-Star averages over 21 minutes of ice time per game this season, and boasts a 53.7% faceoff percentage on top of his already-impressive offensive numbers. Expect the Canadiens’ captain to be the leader of this team as they progress through the decade, and perhaps even beyond.

The retooling/rebuilding the Canadiens have undergone since their Cinderella-style Stanley Cup Final run in 2021 has been a slow process, with multiple bottom-five finishes in addition to seeing a complete overhaul to the management and coaching staff in the interim. Despite the tumultuous few seasons, the team boasts a roster of young talent who have yet to unlock their full potential and are looking to take steps forward in the coming seasons. Expect the likes of Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, and Montembeault (among many more) to lead the charge.