The Montreal Canadiens are on the cusp of something special—and they might just do it twice as fast as their historic rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On Friday night, the Habs have a golden opportunity to punch their ticket to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning for the fourth time in their series. If they succeed, it will mark a stunning achievement: winning a playoff round just four and a half years after the arrival of the Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, and Martin St-Louis regime. In the high-stakes world of NHL rebuilds, that’s lightning-fast progress.
To put it in perspective, look north to Toronto. The Maple Leafs hired Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas to steer their rebuild back in 2014. Like the Canadiens, they missed the playoffs in their first two seasons under new management. Both teams then made the postseason in Year Three—Toronto in 2017 (losing to the Washington Capitals in six games) and Montreal in 2025 (falling to the same Capitals in five).
But here’s where the paths diverge dramatically. The Leafs went on a painful playoff rollercoaster: back-to-back seven-game losses to the Boston Bruins, a qualifying round defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets, a heartbreaking 3-1 series lead blown against Montreal in 2021, and another seven-game loss to the Lightning in 2022. It took the Shanahan/Dubas duo a grueling nine years to finally win a single playoff round.
The Canadiens could potentially do it in half that time. Why? Because Montreal built the right way. While Toronto loaded up on star power—Morgan Rielly, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and John Tavares—they handcuffed themselves with massive contracts and no-movement clauses. That star power often faded when the lights were brightest.
Montreal, by contrast, focused on depth, chemistry, and cap flexibility. This year, players like Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are proving that a well-constructed team can outperform a collection of big names. The result? A franchise on the verge of breaking through, and a blueprint that has their rivals watching closely.
For Habs fans, Friday night isn't just about one game. It's about validation that their team's rebuild is ahead of schedule—and that sometimes, the slow and steady approach wins the race.