After 28 long years, Canada may be bringing home the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Stanley Cup. The Montreal Canadiens shocked the world when they sailed through the playoffs and into the Stanley Cup finals. Facing off with the Tampa Bay Lightning, hockey fans watch nervously to see if the Canadiens can pull off a win for Canada. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger from hometown Langenburg, Saskatchewan, phoned in from Ontario to talk hockey.
Montreal Canadiens are hockey’s most winningest franchise, and they are seeking their 25th championship. The last time the team brought home the Stanley Cup was in 1993 where they topped the Los Angeles Kings; the stories of being the underdog were relevant both now and back then.
“2021 Montreal Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup would parallel that championship in 1993 when you look at the elements and the makeup. Patrick Roy was a star back then and led the Canadiens. Now, Carey Price has put in the work in helping the Canadiens get to the Stanley Cup Championship Final,” commented Dreger. Patrick Roy is a retired Canadian ice hockey goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens. He is regarded as one of the greatest goaltenders of all time and led the team to victory when they captured the cup 28 years ago.
If the Habs can pull off the win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carey Price is almost certain to take home the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player (MVP). Dreger explained, “It’s cliche to say you win as a team, but Montreal also isn’t there if they don’t have all aspects of their club coming together at the right time. One thing I know in covering the Stanley Cup Championship for as many years as I have is that if you don’t have top-level goaltending, then you’re just not going to win.”. Although it takes a team, it is blatant that Price has kept the Canadiens in the game.
Price has done terrific work in net and was consistent in all three series leading up to the 2021 championship, but he has not been a one-man-show. Price was allowed to play the game at his level; defence players Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry put in the work in the big minutes that allowed Price to play his position as an elite goaltender. Because of support from the Montreal Canadiens forwards, the defence was phenomenal. The commitment to playing a defensive offence structure pushed the team into the Stanley Cup finals. Young-star Nick Suzuki was key in the Canadiens advancing to the championship games. Cole Caufield, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia have been unignorable and instrumental to the team’s offence.
“All of these players have done their job. They have contributed in a way that has led to team success. In the end, I think it would be Carey Price that would be recognized as the team MVP going into the Stanley Cup Final, but they’re not in the Stanley Cup final without the full play and commitment of all the other pieces that I’ve talked about,” explained Dreger.
Outside of the organization and dressing room, no one expected the Canadiens to get this far. “Carey and all the veterans from the Montreal Canadiens continued to force-feed the idea that there has been a terrific belief in that room right from day one. I understand that. That’s what being a good teammate is all about. I also do a lot of Montreal radio, and the number of times over the course of a regular season that we talked about what was wrong with the Montreal Canadiens was almost endless.” noted Dreger.
Although there were noticeable inconsistencies throughout the season, credit had to be given to General Manager Marc Bergevin. Dreger discussed that when Bergevin put the team together, he had designed what he viewed as a playoff-contending team. The Canadiens needed to be more stable in net, so they acquired Jake Allen to take some heat off of Price. Bergevin bolstered his blue line, and upfront he brought in proven goal-scorers.
“The window for this team maybe wasn’t closing, but it was open wide enough that he could use his cap space and he could make some bold decisions. He did just that,” commented Dreger. After a mediocre season, the Habs limped their way into the playoffs and sprinted their way into the finals. Montreal’s transformation is an unbelievable story in their march to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
It is interesting what Montreal making it this far into the playoffs has meant to the rest of Canada. To die-hard fans, they do not dare to support the Canadiens. “When it comes to the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins or the Toronto Maple Leafs, it just feels like you have to cheer for one of those teams, but you can’t cheer for the other. You’re certainly not going to cheer for all three,” chuckled Dreger. To the rest of Canadians, they wave their Canadien flags with pride and hope the Habs can bring the cup home.