by Caitlyn Golem, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
As each year comes to an end, we often take the time to reflect on the year as whole – thinking back on both the times that made us smile until our cheeks hurt and the times that had us curled up in tears. Being a hockey fan, we go through this spectrum of emotions a number of times in a single game. As 2017 comes to a close, we can take the time to reflect on the highs and lows of the Montreal Canadiens throughout that time.
The 2017 calendar year started off for the Canadiens with a 2-1 overtime win in Nashville against the Predators. Flash forward to February, the Canadiens went the entire month without a win in regulation; starting off with a loss against the Philadelphia Flyers on February 2nd and closing out the month with an overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 28th.
But during the month, the Canadiens made a change behind the bench. Claude Julien rejoined the Habs for his second stint as head coach replacing Michel Therrien on February 14th. Julien retained the full complement of assistant coaches to ease the transition.
Following this difficult stretch, Montreal went on to pick up 25 out of a possible 36 points to finish off the regular season. The team seemed to respond positively to the coaching change.
With the influence of Julien, Marc Bergevin bulked up the Canadiens at the trade deadline adding Steve Ott, Dwight King and Andreas Martinsen in separate deals. Bergevin also added Jordie Benn and traded media favorite David Desharnais to Edmonton for Brandon Davidson.
On March 2nd P.K. Subban made his much anticipated return to Montreal for the first time since being traded to the Nashville Predators. Subban was met with an emotional video montage highlighting his best moments with the Canadiens and a standing ovation from 21,000 in the Bell Centre stands. Subban’s love of Montreal was demonstrated with his tear stained cheeks.
The Canadiens bounce-back following the difficult month of February, was enough to solidify them the Atlantic Division title and seventh in the league.
In the first round of the 2017 playoffs, the Canadiens faced the New York Rangers for the first time since the 2014 Eastern Final when the Rangers edged the series 4-2. In the opening game of the 2017 playoffs, the Rangers shut down the Canadiens earning themselves a 2-0 victory. In game two however, Montreal was out for revenge and although it took overtime, the Canadiens tied the series at a game apiece. Montreal kept the pressure on in game three, managing a 3-1 win and taking the lead in the series. Unfortunately for the Canadiens, New York went on to win the next three games and eliminated them from the playoffs once again.
On June 17th the reshaping of the Canadiens future roster began in earnest as Nathan Beaulieu was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a third round 2017 draft pick (Scott Walford.) This deal came about an hour before the NHL trade freeze ahead of the expansion draft was imposed.
Alexei Emelin was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was selected by the Las Vegas Golden Knights, from which he was later traded to the Nashville Predators.
New school NHL city, meet an old school hip check.
We've selected Alexei Emelin from @CanadiensMTL. #VegasDraft pic.twitter.com/7Fe0h9Pd2O
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 22, 2017
The 2017 NHL Entry Draft was held in Chicago. All Habs Hockey Magazine took 50 passionate hockey fans from all over North America to the draft to watch the New Jersey Devils select Nico Hischier first overall. The Canadiens took Ryan Poehling, Josh Brook and Joni Ikonen with their first three of seven picks.
In the summer of 2018 Carey Price’s contract was set to run out, but on July 2nd of this year, the Canadiens came to terms with Price to extend his contract until the summer of 2026. His average annual cap hit of $10.5 million made him the highest paid Montreal Canadien in history. Price told reporters that, “There’s no better place to play hockey. I’m honoured to be able to wear a Canadiens uniform for the rest of my career. This is all I’ve ever known and it’s all I ever will know, I hope.”
“I’m honoured to be able to wear a Canadiens uniform for the rest of my career.” — Carey Price
The free agent frenzy plays a large role in the reshaping of teams during the off-season. This year on July 3rd, Alexander Radulov was reportedly being fought over between the Montreal Canadiens and the Dallas Stars. Dallas Star, Jamie Benn, even poked fun at the reports tweeting this picture with his brother Jordie Benn, who plays for the Canadiens.
Only one way to solve this…winner gets @RADUL22 #BubbleHockeyForTheWin #DalVSMtl pic.twitter.com/qFhDnDtAKm
— Jamie Benn (@jamiebenn14) July 1, 2017
The Dallas Stars won the battle signing Alexander Radulov to a five-year contract worth $31.25 million; leaving Montreal without that lovable toothless smile.
The Canadiens signed former Washington Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner to a five-year deal worth just over $23 million.
Alex Galchenyuk filed for arbitration but avoided it by inking a three-year contract extension with the Canadiens on July 5th. His contract has an average annual salary of $4.9 million.
Montreal traded blue chip prospect Mikhail Sergachev to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Jonathan Drouin on July 15th. Drouin was a pending restricted free agent when Montreal acquired him, but inked a six-year contract extension just hours after the trade was finalized.
The off-season marked the end of an era in Montreal as Andrei Markov was not re-signed by the Canadiens, after spending 16 seasons with the team. He had battled through 990 games with the Canadiens, leaving him just ten games short of a milestone. Markov generally said a limited amount to the media and probably frustrated them on many occasions over the years that they couldn’t get more out of him, but he even gave them a shout out in his closing comments.
"You guys made me uncomfortable for so many years. I will miss you so much." – Andrei Markov to the media.
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) July 27, 2017
After losing Markov, Emelin and Radulov as well as trading away Sergachev and Beaulieu, all eyes were on Montreal as they took to the ice for the preseason. In their place, Bergevin had acquired David Schlemko for a 5th round pick from San Jose and had signed Alzner, Ales Hemsky and Mark Streit.
Fans were questioning how this new team would stack up against the others. Canadiens’ fans were concerned when the team started the preseason with six straight losses. In the final two games of the exhibition schedule, Montreal showed signs of promise, defeating both the Florida Panthers and the Ottawa Senators.
The Canadiens extended their winning streak into the regular season with a season opening win against the Buffalo Sabres. The streak did not last long though as the Canadiens went on to lose the next seven games. One of these losses came on October 14th against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to which, Montreal was on a 14 game winning streak against Toronto. The Canadiens went on hot and cold streaks over the next couple months, heading into the Christmas break with a 16-16-4 record.
As the Canadiens finish off their last three games in 2017 and head into the new year, they need to stay healthy and figure how to propel themselves forward in the playoff race.