3 things the Canadiens must sort out to challenge for an NHL playoff berth next season

The Montreal Canadiens had a disappointing season last year, finishing last in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the NHL. Despite their struggles, the Canadiens have a young team that has the potential to make significant progress.

However, they face tough competition in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, making a playoff berth challenging. With that in mind, here are three key factors that the Canadiens need to address in order to increase their chances of making the playoffs.

Get solid goaltending

The Montreal Canadiens had arguably the best goalie in the NHL in Carey Price for years and he led Montreal to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

Yet, Price's career is now over and it happened suddenly, so since then, Montreal has been trying to find a new goaltender. Last season, the Canadiens had Jake Allen, Cayden Primeau, and Sam Montembault but none of them are really starting goaltenders.

Although Primeau and Montembault are young and can improve, if Montreal is going to sneak into the playoffs, they need one of them to step up and perform at a high level.

Cole Caufield to remain healthy

Cole Caufield suffered a season-ending injury last year

Cole Caufield suffered a season-ending injury last January but will enter training camp healthy which is big news to the Montreal Canadiens.

Caufield has inked a long-term deal with Montreal this off-season which was a bit of a risk after the American suffered the injury. Yet, when Caufield is healthy, he can be a 40-goal scorer in the NHL as last year he had 26 goals in 46 games.

However, Caufield hasn't played a full 82 games in the NHL so him staying healthy will be key for Montreal's offense to have success and lead them to the playoffs.

Stabilizing its defense

With a young team like the Montreal Canadiens, players get tons of chances to crack the lineup and that was clear on defense.

Last season, 11 defensemen played at least three NHL games and if Montreal is going to make the playoffs, Martin St. Louis will need to figure out who the six are and stick with them.

The Canadiens will need to build chemistry with the young D-core and if they do that, that should also help the goalie and keep the puck out of their zone.

Ultimately, Montreal has a lot of work to do to make the playoffs next season, but the Canadiens should be better next year.