Northeast Preview: Montreal Canadiens

by Louis Moustakas

With summer well behind us, it seems like the perfect time to contemplate the moves made by Montreal and its various division rivals. Over five parts, we will take a look at each team and venture a guess at where they will finish in 2011-12. It is now time to look at our favorite team, the Montreal Canadiens.  

Last season: 44-30-8, 96 points (2^nd in Northeast, 6^th in East)

Additions: Michael Blunden, RW; Peter Budaj, G; Erik Cole, W; Peter Delmas, G; Raphael Diaz, D; Nathan Lawson, G; Mark Mitera, D; Brock Trotter, C; Brian Willsie, RW; Jeff Woywitka, D; Alexei Yemelin, D

Subtractions: Alex Auld, G; Dustin Boyd, C; Mahtieu Carle, D; Nigel Dawes, LW; Jeff Halpern, C; Roman Hamrlik, D; Kyle Klubertanz, D; Drew MacIntyre, G; Alexandre Picard, D; Benoit Pouliot, LW; Tom Pyatt, F; Ryan Russell, C; Brent Sopel, D; James Wisniewski, D; J.T Wyman, RW;

Last year, the Canadiens managed to finish a respectable sixth in the Eastern Conference in spite of a slew of injuries that forced Andrei Markov, Josh Gorges, Jaroslav Spacek and Max Pacrioretty, to name but a few, to miss considerable time. As a result, Pierre Gauthier spent significant resources plugging holes in his lineup, especially on the backend. In the end, Gauthier would be compelled to acquire three blueliners, James Wisniewski, Paul Mara and Brent Sopel, over the course of the season.

Clearly, as Gauthier entered the summer, he looked to avoid a repeat of that situation. While many defencemen, including Roman Hamrlik, James Wisniewski and Brent Sopel, left the organization, depth, and youth, was added to the backend.

Raphael Diaz and Alexei Yemelin, who both have considerable international experience, were brought over from Europe. Jeff Woywitka and Mark Mitera should add above-average talent to the Bulldogs. Add to that the returns of Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges along with the continued development of Yannick Weber and Brendon Nash, who was a surprise call-up last season, and the squad seems far better equipped to handle injuries to its blueline.

Meanwhile, management also landed a big fish in winger Erik Cole, who adds much needed size and scoring to Montreal’s attack. Even should his production fail to meet expectations, his addition, along with rising youngsters Lars Eller, Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais, gives the Habs scoring options throughout their top-nine. It has been a long while since we were able to sincerely make that statement.       

In short, this edition of the Canadiens appears to have a depth that was not present in recent years. This depth not only allows the team to more comfortably absorb injuries, but also creates precious competition for ice time. Beyond that, they also possess two of the league’s rising stars in P.K Subban and Carey Price, players who are both able to elevate their game and literally carry their team.  

Key players returning to health. Improved depth. Emerging youth. Sounds like a recipe for success.

And if the above does not work out as planned, there is always that four million dollars of cap space that could be handy.

Prediction: 2^nd in the North East.

What do you think? Where will our favourite team finish next season? Can they win the Division?   

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Louis is an editor at HabsWorld.net and has been writing about Canadiens and NHL hockey since 2009. Louis was born in Chicago but grew up in Quebec City where he earned Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Université Laval. He currently lives in Ottawa and works for the Coaching Association of Canada. He can be reached at l.moustakas@habsworld.net.

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