Earlier this week the Montreal Canadiens were knocked out of their first round playoff series by Washington, in five games. Years ago this would have felt like a dismal failure. This year, it felt like progress.

Since a disastrous season following their Cinderella run to the cup final in 2021, the Habs have been in a rebuild. Their objective to start the year was to be playing competitive games in March and April. Before the season began The Athletic gave them a 4% chance of making the playoffs; that prediction fell to 1% as late as Feb 10th. After the break, though, Montreal stormed back up the rankings, clinching the last playoff spot in the East in their final game of the season.

Gone are the days where any team can contend year in and year out — this is the new reality. You take some bad years, build through the draft and smart trades, and hope to get to a contention window for a few years. Now, a few years in, there’s a solid core in place (Lane Hutson is likely to win the Calder trophy; if he does, he’ll be the first Habs rookie to do it since Ken Dryden in 1972), with lots of upside still left to be realized. A playoff series like this against one of the best teams in the league is invaluable experience. They’ll be an exciting team to watch for a while, assuming they can avoid a Buffalo/Detroit-style backslide.

Can’t wait for September.