Free washer | The Canadian is still very young, let’s not forget that

The management of the Canadian warned its supporters during its golf tournament: CH will not win the Stanley Cup next spring. At best, fighting fiercely for a playoff spot. Hence the birth of the now famous expression: “being in the mix”.

A very summary “demographic” study also allows us to draw up an important observation. Not only has the organization been faithful to its reconstruction plan, the club is even younger than last year even if 15 players on the team, returning this season, have aged a year!

According to statistics from the Spotrac site, the Canadian has the youngest team in the NHL as of today after Buffalo. Utah HC comes in third, Boston fourth (surprise!), and Anaheim, Philadelphia, Columbus, St. Louis, San Jose and Ottawa round out the top 10.

Conversely, Edmonton now has the oldest club with an average age of 30.6 years, followed by Pittsburgh, Nashville, Detroit (despite its reconstruction) and the New York Islanders.

The average age of the starting lineup in the 2023 opener was 25.7 years old. If we rely on the composition of the team at training on Monday, it is now 25.6 years. THE top 6 has aged slightly, among other things due to the presence of Joel Armia, 31, in the second trio. If Patrik Laine had not been injured, the average age of top 6 would be 23.3 years. Laine would be the eldest at 26, and the only striker over 23 with Suzuki.

But the defense has rejuvenated with the arrival of Lane Hutson, 20, combined with the departure of Johnathan Kovacevic, 26. The departure of veteran Jake Allen, 33, also contributed to rejuvenating the average age in net.

The CH fan would obviously like a participation in the playoffs, and why not a round or two in the playoffs, after three years in the cellar of the rankings, but reality dictates a more Cartesian approach.

Among the ten youngest teams when the season opened in 2023-2024…none managed to qualify for the playoffs. The Philadelphia Flyers will at least have managed to be… in the mix.

The team’s management avoids hiring veterans at the end of their careers. The Canadian has only five thirty-somethings. They were all already under contract when Gorton and Hughes arrived. The oldest, David Savard, is 33 years old. Three are 31 or younger, Matheson, Anderson and Armia. Two, Savard and Armia, will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, as will Christian Dvorak and Jake Evans, 28.

Within a year or two, Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage, both 18, David Reinbacher, 19, perhaps Owen Beck, 20, or Logan Mailloux, 21, will be expected to join the team . The hard core will be even more experienced. Reconstruction continues. You just have to not be in a hurry.