Battered and bruised Canadiens look back on difficult season

A long and painful 2022-23 season has officially come to a close for the Montreal Canadiens, with players and management addressing the media for the last time on Friday after a 5-4 loss to the Boston Bruins the previous night.

The Habs finish the campaign with 68 points and a 31-45-6 record, slotting them in 28th position in the NHL. Despite the challenges of navigating a myriad of injuries and a squad filled with raw, inexperienced talent, Montreal still managed to come away with a few silver linings in what was a mostly forgettable season.

So, as we stand above this team's grave, let's look at what players and staff had to say about the year that was.

Bleu-blanc-rouge? More like black and blue

The Canadiens led the NHL with the most man games lost to injury for the second straight season, with captain Nick Suzuki being the only skater to appear in all 82 games of the campaign. Just about every player on the roster dealt with some ailment of some sort at some point in the season.

Paul Byron, who missed the entire season after undergoing hip surgery last offseason, shed some light on his struggles with getting back into game shape and was candid about his playing days being numbered.

"I'm 34 and there are times I can barely walk for 30 to 45 minutes," Byron told reporters. "I never had that last moment of putting on the gear for the last time."

Byron admitted he would like to continue playing but understands he is far from being ready. According to Sportsnet's Eric Engels. he has expressed a desire to move into the front office in a player development role.

Sean Monahan, after arriving via trade in August and starting the season with 17 points in 25 games, was forced to sit out a large chunk of yet another NHL season. Monahan told reporters that he broke his foot earlier in the season, and then injured his groin while trying to play with the foot injury.

Despite his best efforts to get back in the lineup, the best option was to shut it down for the season.

"I tried to come back multiple times," he said. "I got things fixed now and I'm on the right direction. I'm looking forward to playing hockey again."

Brendan Gallagher shared a similar fate, choosing to play on a broken ankle before re-aggravating it weeks later. He admitted it was the wrong thing to do, even if he was able to return for the final 12 games of the season.

"It's really hard to describe the mindset that we have," he told reporters. "It maybe doesn't make sense but we've done it so much. We've played through so much in the past. I guess as you get older maybe it's not as easy and we have to be a little smarter."

"We can have all the greatest plans in the world but if we don't find a way to improve what is going on from a medical standpoint, we will never build a winner here — it's definitely frontline for us," general manager Kent Hughes said. "We have to do a better job of protecting [the players] from themselves."

Kirby Dach confirmed to the media that a concussion kept him out of the lineup for the end of the season, Cole Caufield assured that he will heal from shoulder surgery in time to have a full offseason of training and Josh Anderson hopes to resume skating again in a month's time once he recovers from a high ankle sprain.

Habs have decisions to make with veterans

With Montreal fully entrenched in a rebuild and focusing on the development of its young core, some of the team's more seasoned players now find themselves on the outside looking in.

Jonathan Drouin, acquired in June 2017, is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The 28-year-old dealt with his own injury problems this season, but did display his playmaking skill with 17 points in 31 games following the All-Star break.

Drouin iterated on Friday that he would like to remain with the club, but knows Thursday's game at the Bell Centre could have been his last in a Canadiens sweater.

"It's definitely sad, it's a lot of memories, a lot of stuff but that's the stuff you don't control," he said. "I loved my six years here despite the highs and the lows. You try to enjoy these last moments, if they are the last moments."

Monahan, despite only spending one season in Montreal, would also be happy to re-sign with the Canadiens if presented with an offer this summer.

“This dressing room is a special group of guys and I’d be happy to be back here and start a fresh season," he told reporters. "I don't think I played enough games at the Bell Centre, it’d be pretty special to come back.”

Josh Anderson, who is still signed for four more years, was less forthcoming with his assurances that he has a clear future with the organization after hearing his name in trade rumours earlier this season.

"To be honest with you, I'm not going to get into details about that. You guys had your time with the trade deadline and brought out all these rumours," Anderson said. "I signed a long-term contract, I'm here for the next four years. I'm in the present, ready to win. For now I'm a Montreal Canadien."

Joel Edmundson re-affirmed his desire to see out the final year of his contract in Montreal, while veteran netminder Jake Allen also expects to be back for training camp after his two-year, $7.7 million extension kicks in this offseason.

Front office has eyes on the future

Hughes and president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton were the last to speak on Friday.

While hopeful that the team will take a step in the right direction next season, Hughes's priority at the moment remains the development of his young stars.

"We got a lot of young hockey players; we want them to start to take ownership, not only for their own but for the collective here — but it is a balance," he said. "If we push too far in one direction, we run the risk of compromising development.

"I don't know if we're going to make the playoffs but we're not coming into [next] season saying it's a foregone conclusion. We want to push to try to make the playoffs and if we don't make the playoffs, that's fine."

Despite the difficult season, Hughes and Gorton remain confident that head coach Martin St. Louis is the right person to steer the ship and see out this rebuild.

"This guy is a special guy, we're lucky to have him," Gorton said. "We felt it when we hired him but did we know it would work like this and right away? No, but you had a feeling; everything the guy does he does well and succeeds at it."

While the success hasn't come on the ice just yet, it's St. Louis' relationship with his players that makes him so valuable in his position.

"I always say as a coach, you're in the business of convincing; if [players] aren't convinced, they probably don't buy in and work as hard, so it's very encouraging that we had that kind of effort," St. Louis said on Friday. "It makes me think they're convinced and buying in."

"He's an amazing coach; just the way he sees the game is probably not like any other in the league," Suzuki said. "He really connects with us as players and gives us the best opportunity to win every night. The concepts he brings, guys are believing in it."

The brass now turns its attention to the NHL Draft in June, where they have a 8.5 percent chance at winning the draft lottery for a second consecutive season. While the odds of landing the top pick — and Connor Bedard — are slim, management is confident they'll select a good player with their lottery pick.

"We'll see what happens in the lottery — we'll all cross our fingers and hope we can get as high as we can — but short of that I think we're in a pretty good spot," Gorton said. "Our scouts are pretty confident that there are good players available to us.

"I understand at some point the [fans'] expectations are going to be there to win more on a regular basis but I would just ask for a little more patience and understand; it's coming."