TEMPE, Ariz. — A week ago, after a practice at the Montreal Canadiens’ south shore facility, Sean Monahan was sitting at his stall in the dressing room wearing street clothes and a look of sheer contentment on his face.
The 29-year-old, who was in the process of providing some of the most valuable contributions to the Canadiens’ strong first month of the season, had every reason to be happy. He was scoring goals, dominating in the faceoff circle, driving a veteran line between Brendan Gallagher and Tanner Pearson, and feeling as good as he had at any point over the last three years.
Perhaps even better. Sure, Monahan was refreshed in his Canadiens debut a season ago — back-to-back summers recovering from hip surgery were in his rearview mirror, he was moving forward with momentum that would lead him to score six goals and 17 points in 25 games, and the pain that plagued every waking hour and led to countless sleepless nights over the preceding three years was starting to become a distant memory — but this time around, with groin surgery completed far enough in advance of the off-season, it was different.
Monahan would have done anything to have been on the ice with the Canadiens for the 57 games he missed between last December and April, but he acknowledged the physical and mental benefits he gained from not falling into his career-long pattern of grinding through injuries that should’ve stopped him in his tracks.
“I talk about that all the time now with my wife,” he said. “She would always tell me to stop playing, and she’s seen it the most, and I feel bad for her because, on your bad days, it’s not fun. I think, last year, when I knew I would be at 20 per cent if I was playing and just be in agony after, it just wasn’t realistic. To have the amount of time off that I did — I’ve never really had that — and to get the surgery and have everything cleaned up and have a summer where it wasn’t just rehab and I could train and feel like myself again, rather than just going through the motions in the gym and recovering with rehab training and that stuff, it goes a long way towards feeling like yourself and having that extra boost.”
What a difference it has made for the Brampton, Ont., native.
It would’ve been a reasonable assumption — after what Monahan went through over the last three seasons, and with the Canadiens more experienced and deeper than they were a year ago — that his role would diminish this time around. He signed a one-year, $1.985-million contract back in June, which amounted to a $4.39-million reduction in pay from last season, and knowing that it came with a $15,000 performance bonus to be paid if he could appear in at least one more game than he did a year ago certainly set the bar a bit lower.
But, with his health intact, and with strength built up over the off-season, Monahan has been relied on as the Canadiens’ third-most used forward, averaging 19:13 per game — or 1:51 more than he averaged last season and over a minute more per game than he did through any of his last three seasons with the Calgary Flames.
Monahan has also been put in position to be Montreal’s most versatile forward, and he has taken advantage of it in every way. Through 10 games, he has been a force at both ends of the ice, leading the team with six goals while being one of three players in the NHL who have played over 100 five-on-five minutes without being on the ice for a goal against.
Monahan has scored both on the power play and the penalty kill, where he’s logging big minutes, he’s collected five assists, he has the second-best Corsi rating among Canadiens forwards (54.7 per cent) despite starting close 60 per cent of his shifts in the defensive zone and he ranks fourth in faceoff efficiency (60.6 per cent) among players in the league who have taken at least 150 draws this season.
In all those ways, Monahan’s impact on Montreal’s 6-2-3 start has been easily measured.
As Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis put it last week, “He makes a lot of great reads on both sides of the puck, he’s great on draws, he can kill, play the power play. … There’s so many things, but to me he’s a hockey player, he’s not just someone who plays hockey. He plays the game. Sometimes, it’s taking a hit to make a play, sometimes it’s managing risk, sometimes scoring a big goal. I don’t know, he’s a guy we lean on.”
Monahan is also a guy depended on off the ice to set the cultural tone the Canadiens are aiming to establish as they angle to build themselves into perennial contenders, and his teammates say he unfailingly fulfills that obligation on a daily basis.
“Mony’s attitude that he brings towards anything is everything,” said Gallagher, who’s also a tone-setter. “He’s been through a lot, and he shows up and is the same — big smile on his face, making guys laugh, regardless of whether he’s healthy or hurt. He brings a lot of energy, and he’s done it for a long time. He’s really smart, understands the game, and everywhere he’s been, when healthy, he’s been a very productive player, and he’s doing the same thing for us.”
Jordan Harris, 23, feels Monahan has been a role model on the NHL’s third-youngest team.
“It’s just that he does it all for the right reasons,” Harris said. “He cares about everyone, he cares about the game and helping the team and, with the career that he’s had and what he’s been through, to step in with us and fit in seamlessly and fill whatever role that’s asked of him speaks volumes of his character and who he is as a guy. It’s been really good to have him.”
The feeling, for Monahan, is mutual.
Since he came to the Canadiens from the Calgary Flames, along with a 2025 first-round pick in the summer 2022 trade that sent him away from the only other NHL team he’s ever played for, Montreal has felt like home to him.
He said the city has embraced him with open arms, but nothing has made him feel more comfortable than how he’s been received by the Canadiens.
“The whole organization welcomed me in,” said Monahan. “When I got traded, I got a ton of calls and texts. One of my first texts was actually from Cole (Caufield). I wasn’t surprised, but I had never met him then. And for a young guy to step up and tell me good places to eat, good places to live and to help me out that way, that’s the kind of organization this is. Everyone steps in, helps and has each other’s back, and I’m really proud to be a part of the Canadiens.”
The main thing that has Monahan smiling is his health.
It had been fleeting for too long, making daily life so much more complicated and painful than he could’ve ever imagined.
“I basically played two seasons where I could barely even walk, and then what happened last season was really tough,” Monahan said. “It takes a toll on your body, but really on your mind. You come to a game where you’re bending down to tie your skates and you’re questioning yourself, like, ‘What are you even doing? You’re going to be useless on the ice, you’re in pain, and you know you’re not going to be able to move around after the game and not really sleep.’ To finally be healthy and feel good and enjoy playing the game again goes such a long way towards just enjoying day-to-day life, whereas I didn’t want to do anything before. I came home pretty miserable and depressed, just wanting to play the game I loved at the level I knew I was capable of.
“Health is obviously very important. I’m happy to be playing again and feeling good.”
With that comes a feeling of true appreciation for the position Monahan has been in since he was drafted sixth overall in 2013.
“At first, you’re in awe when you’re jumping into the league and getting to do what you’ve dreamed of as a kid,” he said. “You come in every day, you get an opportunity to compete against the best players in the world, and share the dressing room with elite players and grow great friendships and bonds that’ll last a lifetime. But as you get older, you really don’t take it for granted, especially with what I’ve been through. You come in every day, you get to work, and when you win hockey games and win together, there’s no better feeling.”
There’s no question the feeling Monahan has right now is really good. You can tell just by looking at him.
