Canadiens a team to watch on and off the ice — The Fourth Period

TORONTO, ON – The Montreal Canadiens are off to a blazing start to the season, sitting atop the Atlantic Division with a 9-3-1 record through 13 games.

Going into Wednesday’s action, Nick Suzuki is tied for third in the NHL in points, Lane Hutson is second among defencemen in points, Cole Caufield shares the NHL lead in goals, Ivan Demidov leads all rookies in points, and Jakub Dobes is second and third among goalies in goals-against-average and save percentage, respectfully.

So far, so good.

There is a lot to be excited about in Montreal, but this Marty St. Louis coached team is not about to get ahead of itself. Even the team recognizes their current pace of play isn’t fully sustainable, but with 69 games remaining in the season, the Habs understand taking their foot off the gas can result in an early trip to the golf course this spring.

As the Canadiens continue to lock in, management is viewing things with a wide-angle lens. They, too, don’t want to get too ahead of themselves, and as GM Kent Hughes always says, they are always looking for ways to get better.

With just over $6.4 million in current salary cap space, Hughes & Co. have the flexibility to add to their roster this season.

Everyone points to the 2C position in Montreal as an area that will eventually need to be addressed. But second-line centres are hard to come by, just ask Hughes and some of his colleagues across the NHL on the hunt for the same thing. Montreal has been linked to Nazem Kadri, but I also wonder about veterans like Brayden Schenn and Ryan O’Reilly as potential targets later in the season.