Tavares says it would be “great for hockey” to have Toronto and Montreal thriving at the same time.
The last time the Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens were good at the same time, hockey fans couldn’t watch them in person. The year was 2021, COVID was everywhere and the pandemic’s precautionary protocols kept fans out of arenas.
Now, hockey oldest rivalry could be in for a renaissance, starting Wednesday at the Bell Centre, the first game of the NHL season for both teams.
The Leafs have visions of the Stanley Cup dancing in their heads while the Canadiens are promising to no longer be the patsies in an ever-improving Atlantic Division.
“I get why that would be fun for fans,” Leafs centre John Tavares said. “As a player, it would be really fun, too. If that rivalry is up and going, I think it’s great. It’s great for hockey.”
By the time Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner arrived in 2016-17 to set the Leafs toward eight straight playoff appearances, the aging Canadiens were on a downswing. They missed the playoffs in 2018 and 2019. They had COVID to thank for a 2020 appearance when the post-season was expanded to 20 teams. And they upset the Leafs en route to a 2021 appearance in the Stanley Cup final, as the likes of Carey Price and Shea Weber held on for one last run.
A new regime in Montreal, led by Jeff Gorton, the executive vice-president of hockey operations, dove to the bottom to gather picks and prospects. But the Canadiens are promising their rabid fans better days, starting this season.
“We feel like we’re getting better all the time,” Gorton said. “I feel like we’re moving in the right direction, that’s for sure.”
While the Leafs have top-of-the-division aspirations, the Canadiens’ goal is a bit more modest: Be in the playoff conversation by the March 7 trade deadline and have their young players play meaningful hockey late in the season.
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“Some of our better players still have a ways to go to even get to their ceiling, so that’s what is to me the most exciting part,” Gorton said. “Look at Nick Suzuki, look at Cole Caufield, look at Kaiden Guhle. They’re not even 25 years old yet, so there’s still some room to grow. And Juraj Slafkovsky, the sky’s the limit for him.”
It was the acquisition of Patrik Laine that really got the fans excited. If the Finnish sniper could get back to his goal-scoring self, the Canadiens would be a much more dangerous opponent.
Alas, Laine is out up to three months after colliding with Leaf hopeful Cédric Paré on a rush in a pre-season game that underlined what the fierceness of this rivalry could be. Montreal defenceman Arber Xhekaj went after Paré, Slafkovsky fought Marshall Rifai, and Josh Anderson fought Philippe Myers.
When Canadiens hopeful Logan Mailloux was asked on TV during an intermission what was going on, his answer was simple. “It’s the Leafs.”
The Leafs swept all three games against Montreal last year. Defenceman Morgan Rielly is happy the rivalry isn’t the same as it was in the 1950s, 1960s and even the 1970s, when both teams were always good.
“I don’t root for other teams to be good,” Rielly said. “I understand what you’re saying about the rivalry, and I think that makes for entertainment, which I’m all for. But ultimately we hope to win. I’m not cheering on other teams when they acquire really good players. I don’t get excited for them. It makes it more difficult for us.
“That being said, if it happens that, you know, both teams find their groove and start driving at the same time, that would make for some good entertainment.”
The Leafs actually didn’t fare that well against Atlantic Division teams last year, going 11-12-3 and earning just 25 points. Only the Canadiens fared worse, with 18 points.
To call it a tough division is an understatement. The division has sent a team to the Stanley Cup final every year since 2019, two in 2021 when the divisions were temporarily realigned and Tampa Bay beat Montreal in the Cup final. And the so-called have-nots are coming. The Red Wings lost out on a playoff spot via the tiebreak last year. Ottawa and Buffalo have also made strides.
“A lot of good teams,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “A lot of teams that are used to winning.”
Source: thestar.com