Way back on April 27, Nathan Horton abruptly ended the Canadiens' season, his shot from just above the playoff logo skimming through bodies before beating Carey Price. It sent the Canadiens home for the summer and the Bruins on a run to a Stanley Cup championship.
Four and a half months later, it's finally time to get it all going again.
While the 2011-12 campaign has unofficially begun for teams partaking in rookie tournaments, the Canadiens join the fray on Monday, with the start of their four-day rookie camp. It kicks off a busy hockey week for the team that will also bring the Habs' annual golf tournament on Wednesday, physicals and testing for the main camp on Friday, and the start of on-ice sessions on Saturday.
A pair of brief development camps aside early in the summer, the return of regular hockey been a long time coming - 138 days, to be exact - for the Canadiens' widespread fan base. "Days till some actual on-ice #Habs news: Zero. About time," Aki Halonen, a fan from Turku, Finland, wrote on Twitter.
A search for the #Habs hashtag on the popular social network suggests he's not alone.
"Wake up #habs fans... Rookie Camp is here!!! Wooohooo!"
"SO excited some form of #habs hockey starts TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!! and my boys are back in town! WOOOOOO!"
"I can't wait for preseason hockey to begin for #Habs! Counting down the days till preseason game times! #gohabsgo"
"8 days!!!"
The clamouring for all things Canadiens is not the least bit surprising; the team's fervent followers crave for news about the club 24/7/365. But as anxious as the group is, those that help fuel the passion are just as ready to get things going.
"À Montréal, heureux d'être de retour et j'ai hâte d'obtenir sur la glace avec tous les gars," 2011 first round pick Nathan Beaulieu shared on Twitter (with, he acknowledged, the help of Google Translate).
"Time to hit the hay big first day of camp tomorrow #cantwait #habs," defenceman Morgan Ellis, a fourth rounder in 2010, wrote on Sunday night.
The duo joins Yannick Weber, Mathieu Darche and Michael Cammalleri in voicing their excitement towards the season online.
Despite the Canadiens' first round exit last spring, there is plenty of optimism heading into the new season - the addition Erik Cole, the emergence of the young guns last season and the hopeful return to health of Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges and Max Pacioretty. On paper, the team is deeper, with a good chance to improve on last year's showing. But, as everyone knows, it’s on the ice where the results will ultimately be determined.
One week from Tuesday, the Canadiens' preseason calendar begins against the Dallas Stars. Not a moment too soon.
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