The Montreal Canadiens didn’t just drop a 5-2 decision to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night-they unraveled. From the opening puck drop, they looked out of sync, unsure, and frankly, overwhelmed.
Defensive lapses piled up, goaltending faltered, and the team’s overall demeanor raised more questions than the scoreboard did. This wasn’t just a bad night.
It felt like a symptom of something deeper.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the Canadiens look like this this season-like a team stuck between a rebuild and an identity crisis. The effort wasn’t there, the structure was missing, and the compete level?
It barely registered. Ottawa could’ve easily put up more than five goals, and that’s not hyperbole-it’s a reflection of just how vulnerable Montreal looked in their own zone.
And that’s where the bigger concern comes in. It’s not just about the X’s and O’s-it’s about the culture.
Former Habs forward Maxim Lapierre didn’t mince words. He called out what he sees as a growing issue in Montreal: a young team that’s starting to coast.
His phrase? “Too cool for school.”
That’s not just a jab-it’s a warning. Lapierre sees a group losing its edge, slipping into bad habits, and drifting away from the kind of identity that carries teams through the grind of a rebuild.
His fear? That the Canadiens could start to resemble the Buffalo Sabres of years past-a team with talent but no traction, stuck in a cycle of promise and underachievement.
Lapierre’s message was clear: this team needs accountability. It needs structure.
And it needs a veteran presence that doesn’t just show up in the locker room, but sets the tone every day. Because right now, the Canadiens look casual when they need to be competitive.
And that’s a dangerous place to be.
So where do they go from here?
One name that’s surfaced in league circles as a potential fit is Kiefer Sherwood. The 30-year-old winger isn’t a household name, but he’s the kind of player who brings exactly what Montreal is missing-effort, edge, and a no-nonsense approach to the game.
He’s not flashy. He’s not a top-line scorer.
But he plays hard, finishes his checks, and shows up ready to work every night.
That’s the kind of presence Lapierre is talking about. And it’s the kind of presence that could help reset the tone in Montreal’s locker room.
Sherwood is on a $1.5 million deal for the rest of the season-a manageable number for a team looking for a low-risk, high-impact addition. And while he’s not a center, and he’s not going to carry the offense, his value isn’t just in goals or assists.
It’s in the way he plays the game. Honest.
Relentless. With purpose.
Several teams are reportedly keeping tabs on Sherwood-Dallas, Colorado, New Jersey, Minnesota among them-but the Canadiens might have more urgency than most. They’re not just trying to win games. They’re trying to find themselves.
The real question is: how much is too much to pay for a player who might not light up the stat sheet, but could help bring back a sense of accountability and identity?
Because right now, Montreal doesn’t just need saves or scoring. They need a wake-up call.
And that kind of fix doesn’t show up on the scoresheet-it shows up in how a team carries itself. If Sherwood can help change that, then the Canadiens might want to pick up the phone sooner rather than later.