ELMONT, NEW YORK - APRIL 09: Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers warms up prior to the game against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on April 09, 2024 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Steven Ryan/NHLI via Getty Images)
‘In the long term I have more confidence in MTL than in Boston and Toronto to win the Stanley Cup.’
A few years ago, many thought that the Montreal Canadiens could never be rebuilt without criticism.
Yet here we are in 2024, and virtually every Habs fan has bought into the Habs rebuild plan initiated by Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton a few years ago.
Fans are excited about the team’s future, and the majority believe that this rebuild will ultimately be a success.
However, all this confidence and patience placed in the Tricolore’s management is short-lived, and will very soon depend on the team’s success on the ice.
It’s all very well drafting good prospects and having good drafts, but one day, you have to have good seasons.
In short, there’s probably one more season in which Habs fans are prepared to be patient.
Then it’s time for results, and of course, Stanley Cups.
But to do that, you first have to be better than the teams in your division.
Well, in that regard, renowned prospect analyst Steven Ellis, who often covers content surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs, is confident that in the long run, the Habs will have a better chance of winning the Stanley Cup than both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins.
In fact, that’s what the analyst said while answering questions from Montreal Canadiens fans on Reddit.
According to him, the Montreal Canadiens will be highly competitive within two or three years, and could win the Stanley Cup in 2031.
That may seem a long way off, but Ellis’ justification makes sense.
He believes that the Tricolore will have several good competitive seasons in a row, but will only be able to go all the way when the vast majority of its core is around 25 years old.
The players will all have more experience and will for the most part be in their prime.
Now, if we look at the two teams that were compared to Montreal in the long term, Boston and Toronto, we can well understand why Ellis has more confidence in Montreal.
The Bruins’ and Maple Leafs’ window of opportunity is likely to be closed by 2031.
In the Bruins’ case, they only have a few seasons left to reach the ultimate goal with the current core, otherwise it will be too late, when they have one of the worst, if not the worst, prospect banks in the entire NHL.
As for the Maple Leafs, well, they’re cursed in the playoffs, and on top of that, their current core isn’t getting any younger, and is already over 25.
They don’t have any big prospects coming through, so they’ll probably be out of the running for the Stanley Cup by the time the Habs are at their best.
In short, Kent Hughes and his team are doing well to be as patient as possible, because in the long run, it’s likely to pay off handsomely.
