“Rebuild.” It’s the word that was on every Montrealer’s lips this off-season, except for Marc Bergevin. And who could blame them? The selection of Jesperi Kotkaniemi over Filip Zadina, the injury to Shea Weber, and the trades of Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty all pointed to a Canadiens team looking past this season to the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and beyond.
The first two games slammed the brakes on those thoughts. Instead of the expected struggles, the Habs came out of the gate firing on all cylinders with a new playstyle and, dare I say, a new attitude.