Cowan: Canadiens seek sandpaper in building Stanley Cup contender

Ottawa Citizen

a day ago

There's a big sign on a wall at the Toronto Maple Leafs' practice facility that reads, 'NO GRIT. NO GRIND. NO GREATNESS.'
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It describes perfectly why the Maple Leafs continue to struggle in the playoffs, because their 'Core Four' players — Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares — seem to lack those first two traits once the regular season comes to an end. The Leafs have won only two playoff series in nine years since selecting Matthews with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and they haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.
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The Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup final for the third straight year — looking to win their second straight championship — in large part because their best players have plenty of grit and grind. Sam Bennett scored two goals for the Panthers in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Oilers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday in Edmonton. He leads the NHL with 12 playoff goals this year and also tops the Panthers in hits, with 87 in 18 games. Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk are also full of grit and grind, and the Panthers added Brad Marchand this season to bring even more of those two things in a trade with the Boston Bruins.
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Panthers head coach Paul Maurice had a classic quote earlier in the playoffs when asked about his team's humility off the ice and its ferociousness on it: 'Sometimes you say a prayer, sometimes you shotgun a beer. That's kind of like our team.'
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These playoffs have shown just how far the Canadiens still have to go in their rebuilding process if management wants to reach its goal of becoming a legitimate Stanley Cup contender for several years. The Washington Capitals beat the Canadiens in five games in the first round, then lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. The Hurricanes then lost to the Panthers in five games in the Eastern Conference final.
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Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens' executive vice-president of hockey operations, and general manager Kent Hughes are well aware they still have much work to do.