The Montreal Canadiens come into the 2015-16 season looking to take the next step in the NHL’s Eastern Conference with their sights set on ultimately bringing the Stanley Cup back to Canada. The Habs were the last Canadian team to capture the Holy Grail in 1993. This years edition has something to prove after a pair of disappointing exits in each of the last two playoffs.
The Canadiens followed up their semifinal run of 2013-14 by finishing in first place in the Eastern Conference with 110 points in 2014-15. Carey Price was simply remarkable between the pipes, carrying the club on many nights en route to capturing the Hart and Vezina Trophy. However, the heightened expectations entering the playoffs would prove to be too much for this young team. After squeaking by the Ottawa Senators in a heated opening round matchup, the Canadiens went quickly dismissed by a hungrier and much more aggressive Tampa Bay Lightning squad. Admittedly, Price could have been better in the series, but there were several key players who were invisible for the majority of the playoffs. The core of this group will have to be much better going forward if the Habs plan on reaching that next level.
Despite the harsh exit from last year’s playoffs, there is certainly much room for optimism moving forward. Any club with championship aspirations needs to be built from the crease out. With Price, the Canadiens have a chance every night. The confidence he instills in the rest of his teammates cannot be understated. The Canadiens have been guilty of leaning on their MVP far too often and will look to support Price at both ends of the ice this year. Defensively, the Canadiens will return a solid group of forwards and defenseman, but the question remains how much they will be able to produce offensively? The Habs once vaunted power-play has regressed recently and will need to be remedied if the Canadiens hope to find the net with regularity this season. The Habs are not built to play high-scoring games so they need to produce when the opportunities with the man advantage present themselves.
GM Marc Bergevin was relatively quiet during the off-season. The Habs were rumored to be interested in a number of free agents, but the GM opted to go the trade route when free agency kicked off on July 1st. Bergevin dealt popular forward Brandon Prust to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for the fiery Zack Kassian and a fifth round pick. Prust was a warrior and his leadership in the dressing room will certainly be missed. Kassian is being afforded a tremendous opportunity in this deal. The 24-year old will be expected to play a similar role that Prust played while in Montreal. Kassian has shown flashes of his potential in his brief career to date. He will need to provide the Canadiens with a physical presence on a consistent basis if he expects to earn his ice-time under Michel Therrien. Kassian needs to play on the edge to be effective. There is no question that when he is at his best he has the ability to get under the skin of the opposition. He needs to be able to do just that without crossing the line where he takes unnecessary penalties. Playing in front of an electric crowd on a nightly basis should provide the boost Kassian needs to be a valuable player for the Canadiens.
On July 24th, Bergevin once again rolled the dice on a player searching for some consistency in his game. Russian forward Alexander Semin was inked to a one-year deal for just $1.1 million. Semin struggled severely in Carolina last season prompting the Hurricanes to buyout the former 40-goal scorer. Bergevin decided to take a chance on Semin and the early results in training camp have been positive. Semin found instant chemistry with fellow Russian Alex Galchenyuk. The pair has looked sharp in the preseason playing on a line with Lars Eller. Eller, much like Semin, is looking to play a more consistent game at both ends of the rink. Many have clamored for Bergevin to deal Eller, but it looks as though he will open the season with the opportunity to play on the Habs second line. It will be interesting to see if the chemistry shown by this trio in the preseason carries over into the regular season.
Bergevin may have found another bargain on September 12th when he signed Tomas Fleischmann to a professional tryout. The veteran forward has looked comfortable in his new surroundings from the get-go. Fleischmann is a solid two-way player who brings much needed experience to the Canadiens checking lines. He has looked good on the Habs third line in camp, playing alongside David Desharnais and Dale Weise.
Perhaps the biggest move of the offseason came on September 18th, when the club announced that Max Pacioretty would become the 29th captain in the history of the team. The Canadiens went with four assistant captains last year after former captain Brian Gionta left for Buffalo via free agency. Pacioretty fits the bill of the quiet leader in the Canadiens dressing room. He will be expected to carry the load offensively playing on the Habs top line with Tomas Plekanec and Brendan Gallagher. Pacioretty will also lean on his assistants in terms of leadership in Canadiens dressing room. P.K. Subban is clearly one of the more vocal leaders of this team and Gallagher lets his play on the ice do the talking. Gallagher certainly earned the “A” for this season as his work ethic exemplifies exactly what the Canadiens need from their entire roster if they hope to succeed.
With Price in goal, and a solid defensive system in tact, the Canadiens should fare well in their own end of the rink. Offensively, they will need to get back to basics with the power play. The Canadiens were often guilty of becoming one-dimensional with the man advantage. P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov will continue to quarterback the first power play unit, but the Canadiens down low play needs to improve. They need to be able to generate some traffic in front of the opposition goal for Subban and Markov to be effective from the point. Gallagher is relentless in front of the net but his stature does not provide much of a screen. He will need support from Pacioretty in the dirty areas to the first unit to click. The Habs are hopeful that the Semin acquisition could give the power play a boost as well.
With training camp winding down, the Habs lineup appears to be almost set. Michel Therrien faces some tough decisions in the coming week. The first three lines up front appear to be set. The fourth line competition is up in the air. Torrey Mitchell will likely center the fourth line with Zack Kassian on his right side. The third member of this line could be Brian Flynn who impressed many with his play in last year’s playoffs. Jacob De La Rose and Devante Smith-Pelly have disappointed in camp so far and it could end up costing them a spot in the opening night lineup.
On the back end, Subban and Markov will be followed by Alexei Emelin and Jeff Petry. Nathan Beaulieu will be paired with Tom Gilbert on the third unit. Look for Beaulieu to leap past Emelin on the depth chart if Emelin struggles as he did much of last season. The battle for the last spot on defense has come down to youngsters Jarred Tinordi and Greg Pateryn, along with journeyman Mark Barberio. Pateryn fared well with the Habs last year while Tinordi struggled to progress. Barberio, a Montreal native, was invited to camp as has not looked out of place to date. Many are wondering if Bergevin might be tempted to package Tinordi in a deal, perhaps to bolster the forward group. It remains to be seen if the Canadiens will make a trade to clear up the log-jam at the depth positions both up front and on defense.
Ultimately, this season will likely come down to the play of Carey Price. The Canadiens will obviously look to improve in all areas of their game but eventually when it comes down to crunch time, the team’s fate will lie in the hands of number 31. With the way he has been playing for the past two seasons, anything is possible. The Eastern Conference figures to be ultra competitive once again. The Canadiens will have to work hard just to reach the playoffs in a league where parity reigns supreme. Can this group take it to the next level? Only time will tell. It should be another exciting season in La Belle Province!