Key Offseason Losses: Jaroslav Halak, Sergei Kostitsyn, Glen Metropolit, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Paul Mara, Georges Laraque
Key Offseason Additions: Dustin Boyd, Alex Auld, Lars Eller
Last Season Ranking: 8th, East
Offense: Montreal returns its top four offensive threats. Included in that are top line of Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, and Brian Gionta. They have a top line that isn’t as flashy as some of the other teams in the East, but they do have the ability to carry the Canadiens. Their main issue last season was staying healthy. They each were effective when they played, but they don’t have the depth necessary to survive if the injuries start to climb. Tomas Plekanec returns to anchor the second line, and should be able to come close to matching his team-leading 70 points from a year ago. Further down the depth chart is where it could become cloudy. Benoit Pouliot is the top returning scorer not from the top two lines, and he posted a 15-goal, nine assist season last year. If he can improve on those numbers, it could help give Montreal the depth down the roster needed to compete. Look for new additions Dustin Boyd and Lars Eller to make contributions to the third and fourth lines.
Defense: This is the area where they lost significant at the top. In addition to Halak in goal, the Canadiens lost Marc-Andree Bergeron. This is significant because he was one of 22 defensemen who scored double-digit goals on the season. Defensive scoring the way Bergeron could is hard to come by, but they do return Andrei Markov. Markov won’t be ready until at least Thanksgiving as he underwent surgery to repair an ACL he injured in game one of the Pittsburgh series. Habsinsideout.com reported last week he resumed skating on his own, but he is still behind his teammates in terms of being in top condition for training camp. Look for top prospect P.K. Subban to make a big impact in his first full season. Subban litthe lamp several times last season in the AHL with Hamilton, and continued to do so when Markov went down in the playoffs. He finished second in team playoff points for defensemen with eight. He’s their top defensive prospect and could contend for the Calder Trophy if he can contribute the way he did in the playoffs.
Goaltending: With Halak gone, it’s do or die time for Carey Price. Price has been given the keys to the car and it’s his job to perform in net. He has to rid his inconsistency and play the entire season the way he does when he’s on his game. Because if he struggles, Alex Auld is not the goalie Halak was. Price was 13-20-5 last season. Those are the numbers you don’t expect from the goalie you signed to a two-year, 5.5 Million dollar contract last week. Just to add a little pressure on Price, top minor league goalie Cedrick Desjardins was traded to Tampa Bay last week for Karri Ramo. And Ramo will remain in the KHL this season and honor his contract before returning to the NHL in 2011.
Season Outlook: Montreal has a chance to win the division and have an encore performance to last season’s magical run to the East finals. If they can surprise everyone and improve on the defensive side of the puck, expect them to make a deep run to the playoffs. In the flipside, if Carey Price struggles, so could the rest of the team.
