Canadiens eliminated, couldn't overcome injuries, lack of scoring

The Montreal Canadiens failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Montreal (30-39-6) was eliminated from contention after a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
After reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games, the Canadiens have not made the playoffs in the past two seasons. They reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs in nine of 11 seasons between 2004 and 2015 but have made the playoffs in only three of the past eight seasons.
Here is a look at what happened in the 2022-23 season for the Canadiens and why things could be better next season.

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The skinny

Potential unrestricted free agents: Jonathan Drouin, F; Sean Monahan, F; Paul Byron, F; Alex Belzile, F; Chris Tierney, F
Potential restricted free agents: Cole Caufield, F; Denis Gurianov, F; Jesse Ylonen, F; Rafael Harvey-Pinard, F; Michael Pezzetta, F
Potential 2022 Draft picks: 11

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What went wrong

Injuries: The Canadiens weren't exactly destined to be good this season, something acknowledged by the organization. But it hasn't helped that Cole Caufield's season ended Jan. 19, Brendan Gallagher was out Jan. 3-March 21 and Sean Monahan hasn't played since Dec. 5. Add in Kaiden Guhle, Kirby Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky and Arber Xhekaj, among those who missed significant time. And that doesn't even include goalie Carey Price or forward Paul Byron, neither of whom played a single game. The Canadiens have been the team most decimated by injury in the NHL this season -- and it's not close.
By design: Though the Canadiens aren't calling what they're going through a rebuild, that's definitely one word for their current plan. At the moment, the Canadiens are working on retooling the organization, setting it up with the vision of the new management and coaching staff, making sure it can get to a place of being a perennial contender. They're evaluating talent and trying to right the ship. So, while the season hasn't gone as well as the Canadiens might have hoped, this also wasn't unexpected.
Lack of offense: Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens with 61 points (23 goals, 38 assists) in 75 games. Next behind him? Dach. Who has 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 58 games. That's not a lot of offense. Only three players have topped the 20-goal mark, with Josh Anderson (21) joining Caufield (26) and Suzuki. The Canadiens are 26th in the NHL, averaging 2.83 goals for per game. And they're worse on the power play, scoring 17.1 percent of the time, 28th in the League.

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Reasons for optimism

Martin St. Louis: The Canadiens coach has plenty of playing experience in the NHL -- 1,134 games over 16 seasons -- but his coaching resume is not as robust. When he was hired as interim coach by the Canadiens on Feb. 9, 2022, he had zero professional coaching experience at any level. But just as his team has been gaining experience over the past couple of seasons, so too has its coach and it seems that management is pleased with the strides St. Louis has made. His trajectory is pointing up.

NHL talent evaluation: The Canadiens surely wish that their top young players -- like Caufield and Slafkovsky -- were playing and getting experience. But with many of them injured, the organization has gotten the chance evaluate others, like Ylonen and Harvey-Pinard -- who may have not had an NHL opportunity otherwise. Pinard, for example, took advantage of his chance and has scored 13 goals in 31 games. This has been a valuable time to evaluate all levels of talent for the Canadiens and identify some unexpected NHL players.
The draft: Not only are the Canadiens in good shape to select plenty of talent in the 2023 NHL Draft with 11 picks, but they're in the running for a top-5 pick. They're unlikely to have the best chance at expected No. 1 pick Connor Bedard, but they do have a shot. Either way, the Canadiens are going to be gathering talent -- likely a lot of talent, with two first-round picks -- for the future.