Montreal Canadiens Fans Vote – Results For The State Of The Rebuild

While there’s no doubt the Montreal Canadiens needed to tear everything down to the studs so they could rebuild, some questioned whether Habs fans could handle a rebuild. Without naming any names, there was some logic behind the idea that patience would quickly run out. After all, Montreal is a sports city that was built by an endless stream of Stanley Cups during the dynasty years.

But we also have to be honest when it comes to the realities of the modern sports landscape. Dynasties are mostly a thing of the past, and the last time the Canadiens won a Stanley Cup, Juraj Slafkovsky was still 11 years away from being born. In other words, for many fans, the success of the past is closer to mythology, as they never had an opportunity to watch the legends who served as the building blocks of dominance in Montreal.

With that in mind, we now turn to the latest Habs fan poll, which asked Canadiens faithful for their opinions on the rebuild two and a half years into it. If there was any doubt about how fans feel, including media-driven impatience, the results of this poll should put everyone, including Canadiens management, at ease.

The questions are scored from 1 to ten, with ten being the best result. If the question allowed for answers depicted in percentages, each score represents the equivalent percentage (5 = 50%).

Question No.1 – Have the Canadiens done a good job drafting key players in 2022 and 2023?

Drafting key players is one of the most important aspects of any rebuild, and despite much of the public discourse centring on whether the team made the right picks in 2022 and 2023, the vast majority of Canadiens fans are satisfied with the team’s draft record.

As you can see below, the most fans think the Habs did a good job drafting key players in both 2022 and 2023. Those players include Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Owen Beck, Jacob Fowler, David Reinbacher, Adam Engstrom, and Filip Mesar. To put a fine point on the confidence level of fans toward the draft record, more people suggested the Canadiens had perfect drafts in both years than all the neutral or bad votes combined.

Question No.2 –  What odds do you give the Canadiens to qualify for the playoffs next season?

Having realistic expectations is important, especially during a rebuild. There will always be some pressure when it comes to qualifying for the playoffs, and in this case, the most popular response gives the Habs a 50/50 chance to qualify. Personally, I believe the Canadiens will finish somewhere between 20th and 26th in the NHL next season, and thus miss the playoffs by a wide margin, but in addition to the most popular answer, there’s also a significant portion of fans that think the Canadiens have 60 or 70 percent chances to make it.

Question No.3 – How would you rate the trades made by Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton since taking over in 2022?

One of the most important aspects of any rebuild is found in the many trades required to re-invent a lineup. Some moves are easy, including when the team sends a veteran to a contending team at the trade deadline. Others are more complicated, as they generally include trades that added talent to the mix rather than removing it. But any way you cut it, Habs fans have been quite satisfied by the litany of trades made by Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton since 2022.

Question No.4 – Rate Martin St-Louis’ work as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens

Martin St-Louis faced a lot of ridicule from out-of-town sources when he was named as the head coach of the Canadiens. To be perfectly fair, there was also some concern among Canadiens fans given his complete lack of experience. But hiring outside the ‘NHL Head Coach Recycling Program’ has worked out well for most of the young players in the lineup, a crucial aspect of any rebuild. Consequently, most Canadiens are quite satisfied with St-Louis‘ work since taking over.

Question No.5 – Are you willing to pay face value to purchase tickets to watch the current edition of the Montreal Canadiens?

Supporting a rebuild is one thing, but buying face-value tickets to watch a team in the midst of a rebuild is another. Fortunately for the Canadiens, there’s still a large portion of fans who are willing to financially support the by buying tickets. This connotes that not only are Canadiens fans willing to remain patient during a rebuild, but they’re also willing to spend their hard-earned money to watch a team that loses more often than it wins.

Question No.6 – How would you rank the transparency and open communication provided by the Canadiens organization?

Teams will typically put in place a new era of transparency and open communication, especially when they hire a new general manager. Former GM Marc Bergevin also ushered in a more transparent era, at first, but the grind of facing the media and demanding fans every day eventually led to a complete lack of communication. Hughes and Gorton have been quite open with fans, treating them with a level of respect and understanding that was absent from the last few years of the previous management group. It remains to be seen if they’ll keep it up when the going gets tough, but for now, Habs fans are very satisfied with the communication level of the club. We should probably note that the Communications department has played a big part in re-establishing a certain level of trust from fans. Everyone is aware that Chantal Machabée joined the fold, but also have to give credit to some of the other members of the team, including Charles Saindon-Courtois, Guillaume Ouimet, and Timothy Gagnon.

Question No.7 – Do you believe the Canadiens have the necessary core to become legitimate Stanley Cup contenders in the next 5 years?

The results are once again quite positive when we consider the Habs have finished among the bottom-five teams in the NHL for three years in a row. Most think the Canadiens will be considered legitimate Stanley Cup contenders in the next five years, however, you’ll note the less positive responses received more votes than in previous questions.

Question No.8 – How satisfied are you with overall the direction the Montreal Canadiens rebuild has taken since 2022?

The final poll question is the most important, as it gauges how satisfied fans are with the overall direction of the rebuild. Over 50 percent of the answers point to a fan base that is extremely satisfied. This is probably the high-point when it comes to the relationship between management and the fans, and the results wouldn’t be as overwhelmingly positive if they miss the playoffs for another year or two, but for now, it’s safe to suggest that the reports of Montreal Canadiens fans losing patience are closer to an opinion than anything that would be considered a fact. When evaluating answers from actual fans, the results couldn’t be more clear. We also have to remember these results were taken prior to the 2024 NHL Draft, to avoid recency bias in the votes. If anything, the level of confidence and satisfaction has gone up in recent weeks.