The Montreal Canadiens are heading into this season with a handful of individual benchmarks within reach, and several of them would push key players deeper into the franchise record book.
Nick Suzuki is the headliner in that group. The Canadiens captain has 476 points in 537 regular-season games, leaving him on the doorstep of 500.
Only 24 players in the club’s 117-year history have reached that number, and Suzuki is set to move past some notable names along the way, including Bobby Smith (482 points), former teammate Brendan Gallagher (487 points), and Vincent Damphousse (498 points). At 27, Suzuki is about to add another layer to what he’s already built in Montreal.
Cole Caufield is chasing a different kind of landmark, but one that matters just as much in Canadiens history. He has 169 goals in 368 regular-season games and is positioned to get to 200 this season with Montreal playing 84 games.
That would put him among just 25 Canadiens to hit the mark. Before he gets there, Caufield is expected to pass Smith (172 goals), Yvon Lambert (181 goals), Damphousse (184 goals), Saku Koivu (191 goals), Pierre Mondou (194 goals), Larry Robinson (197 goals), and Bobby Rousseau (200 goals).
Among American players in Canadiens history, only Max Pacioretty has scored more, with 226 goals in 626 games.
Juraj Slafkovsky also has a pair of milestones in view. The power forward has 72 goals in 282 games and could reach 100 goals this season. He’s coming off a 30-goal campaign last year, and his point total now sits at 184, putting 200 points squarely in play unless injury gets in the way.
Lane Hutson is in the same neighborhood, at least in terms of points. The defenseman already has 146 points in just 166 games, after posting 66 in his rookie season and 78 in his second year. The sophomore jinx never showed up, and he’ll be aiming to clear 200 points this season.
Phillip Danault is tracking a different sort of milestone altogether. The veteran forward has appeared in 786 NHL games and should soon reach 800.
Of those, 405 came with the Canadiens, which places him 90th on the franchise’s games-played list. If he plays all 84 games this season, he would climb to 489 with Montreal and move up to 71st place, tied with Pierre Bouchard.
In Other News...
Canadiens Blue Line Logjam Just Cost Them Another Young Defenseman
The Canadiens defensive depth has become one of the more persistent talking points around the organization, and William Trudeaus latest move is another sign of how crowded that lane has become. After several seasons with the Laval Rocket and only limited NHL opportunities in Montreal, the former Canadiens defenseman has moved on to the New York Rangers organization, where he sees a clearer path to the league.
Trudeau said the depth chart in Montreal was part of the equation, even as he spoke respectfully about his time with both the Canadiens and Laval. For a young blue-liner trying to turn steady development into an NHL look, the appeal of a fresh start is obvious, and his departure adds one more name to the list of prospects who found the road blocked before it ever really opened. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Face A Big Bolduc Decision Next To Suzuki And Caufield
Zachary Bolducs first season with the Canadiens offered both encouragement and frustration, which is usually how these things go when a player is trying to establish himself in Montreal. Acquired from the St. Louis Blues, he opened fast enough to make people notice, then settled into a more uneven stretch as the year wore on, with his production cooling off and his role shrinking at times.
Still, Bolducs playoff play gave the Canadiens something to think about going into next season, especially with the possibility of him being asked to skate in a far more prominent spot alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. For a team looking to sort out the best version of its top end, his progress in the spring matters almost as much as the uneven regular season that came before it. [Read more 🡒]
Kent Hughes May Be Ending The Canadiens Quiet Summer Soon
The Canadiens have spent much of late summer in a holding pattern, but that quiet stretch may be nearing an end. Montreal is expected to make at least one official announcement soon, and the buzz around the team has centered on Kent Hughes possibly closing the book on a relatively uneventful offseason with a late move or roster update.
The exact nature of the news remains unclear, with no confirmations yet from the club. Still, sources indicate something could break early in the week, giving Canadiens fans a fresh point of attention before the calendar turns fully toward the next phase of team business. [Read more 🡒]