Last Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers sealed the Montréal Canadiens' fate, officially eliminating them from the playoff picture for the second straight season.

This outcome is by no means a surprise, nor can it be viewed as much of a disappointment. It was never about making the postseason anyway. Not this season. It was always about continuing the rebuild that Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton started in earnest when they assumed the general manager and president of hockey operations jobs midway through last season.

In a perfect world, the logical conclusion of that organizational mandate was the pole position in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that was ever a realistic aim. There was always just enough talent in-house to keep this group from hitting rock b