On the first day of the season, the management of the Canadiens promised that they would not make any promises. And that the P word (playoffsor playoffs, in French) would not be pronounced.
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As one might suspect, the word has nonetheless been uttered extensively since. In the last few days, maybe even the last few weeks, it has been put forward with more conviction by the players, obviously talking about spring 2025.
Tuesday, before the final game of the season, which ended with a victory for the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout, defender David Savard, for example, affirmed that his objective, at training camp next September, without ambiguity, will be to support his club in the playoffs.
If there’s one who has never, ever talked about that this season, it’s Martin St-Louis. The head coach, an apostle of caution and allergic to evaluating his work based on results alone, even remained circumspect when, mid-season, his club was not that far from the pack.
Again on Tuesday, at the end of the evening, he reiterated his credo by talking about progression, commitment, catching up with the “big teams”. “We are going to a good place,” he reiterated.
Rarely, however, he moved forward to next season. Satisfied with the collective play of his men, he expects to see them take another step. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we were in the mix,” he said. In other words, his group fights until the end, or almost.
“Every year, when you start, your goal is always to try to make the playoffs,” he insisted. Regardless, “expectations must be realistic” and his players “continue to progress as they have progressed this year”.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Brendan Gallagher ahead of Ben Chiarot and James Reimer
“It’s clear that we don’t want to play one last match that doesn’t mean anything,” he said. Clever, St-Louis promised nothing. But what emerges from his reflections is a reminder that for all his positivity and energy in defending his team in these difficult years, there is a fierce competitor within him.
“I’m not kidding: even when we needed maybe 18 wins in a row to get there, he still believed we could get to the playoffs,” Brendan Gallagher said after the match about his coach. . He has incredible faith in our group. »
“Another stadium”
St-Louis also opened up (a little) about how it will approach the future. His role is “progressing,” he noted. Columnist François Gagnon, from RDS, asked him if his famous concept of “aggressive patience” would mutate towards less patience and more aggressiveness.
We have, in fact, seen a lot of the first theme over the last two seasons. And for good reason, because as hard as the coach could have banged on the table or shouted behind closed doors, he had to deal with a squad lacking in several positions, especially in a context where the strategic decisions of his bosses have a direct impact on the ice. If the Canadian had wanted to win more games, he probably would not have traded Sean Monahan, just as he would not have given so many starts to Jake Allen. If he had really wanted to whip up his offense, the coaching staff would have possibly scratched Josh Anderson from the lineup a few times.
Next season, “we’re going to be at another stage, as a team,” St-Louis agreed.
“Everything has an expiration date, and so does patience. I won’t arrive in September saying: this year, I’m going to be tough. I think I’m a coach [mesuré], which is correct. Sometimes it takes patience. Sometimes less. »
His job calls him to demonstrate “emotional intelligence” to deal with the individual reality of his twenty players and with the collective reality.
“Depending on what we’re going to look like in September, I’m sure there will be expectations,” he continued. I don’t mean that there will be no more patience. You have to be realistic, honest, and maybe a little more aggressive. »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Cayden Primeau
He also defended himself from being unilaterally positive when speaking about his team, even when the defeats pile up.
“If I am positive, it is because I believe that we are doing very good things, but that does not guarantee victory,” he qualified. Next year, if we don’t do anything good, I won’t be positive. If we don’t do anything good and lose, I won’t be patient. »
Challenged, he continued: “Do I like winning? Absolutely. I feel that over the last few years, it’s been okay for us to lose because we weren’t dominated. It’s hard not to be positive. But next year, if we are dominated, I will not be positive. »
And just as we thought the tone had just changed drastically: “But we will have to be careful about our expectations of winning more matches. I don’t know where we’ll be in game number 7, or number 52. I have no idea. »
Martin St-Louis didn’t promise anything, we said. But he was clear about his status, with only one year remaining on his contract: “I love what I do. I love my life outside of hockey. It’s a passion, not a job. I’m going to be here until they don’t want me anymore. »
Finally, yes, he promised something. That this team, he will not let go.
Rising
Brendan Gallagher
He finished the season with a nice streak of eight points, including five goals, in his last five games. His trio, with Alex Newhook and Joel Armia, also had a good end to the campaign.
Falling
Cayden Primeau
Two bad goals: that of Joe Veleno, scored when the goalkeeper seemed to have assumed that the game was stopped, then that of Daniel Sprong, from an impossible angle. He lost his last four starts of the season.
The number of the match
7
Over the last three games, the Habs have seen the opponent create a tie seven times after the Montrealers took a lead of one, two or three goals.