MONTREAL, QUEBEC – After scrapping in to the play-offs on the final day of the regular season last year, Montreal went on to make an improbable run to the Conference Finals, defeating defending champions Pittsburgh and Presidents Trophy winners Washington en route, and the Canadiens faithful found a new hero – Jaroslav Halak.
The Slovaks heroics saw his reputation among Habs supporters sky rocket, even talking about him in the same breath as Roy or Dryden.
The goaltending saga of the Canadiens has been the main talking point in Montreal for the best part of two years now, ever since Price unseated Cristobel Huet, and has often over shadowed any other positives or negatives the Canadiens have served up along the way.
After a shock run during the 2010 play-offs, Montreal must now get back in their groove and get the best out of their stars to build on the positive aspects of last years campaign.
Here’s how the Canadiens are shaping up for the new campaign:
Netminders
Carey Price has once again been given the backing of the Habs top brass. After taking the #1 job from Huet, the young star struggled to follow up a promising rookie campaign and was himself unseated by Halak last year. Once again installed as the teams #1, Price is arguable under more pressure than any other player in the league to come up with the goods this season.
Expectations are part and parcel of playing in
But his winning pedigree from his junior days must begin to translate to the big time if he is to turn the ‘boos’ he has received during the pre-season in to cheers and help guide the Canadiens to another play-off berth.
Alex Auld was signed as a free agent during the summer to provide a competent second puck stopper, but he is unlikely to really challenge Price for the #1 job in any significant way. Auld is capable of stepping in and performing for short stretches though and has generally proven to be a good back up
Defence
After a sometimes shaky regular season,
Andrei Markov is still firmly ‘the man’ on the Habs blue line. Despite it being likely he will miss the first month of the season with a knee injury which ended his 2009/10 campaign early, the skilled Russian will be the teams’ biggest offensive threat on D and will mastermind their powerplay once again. It was no coincidence Markov played just 45 games last season and
Hal Gill stepped up big in the post season (no pun intended), as the hulking D man was instrumental in helping shut down first Alex Ovechkin and then Sidney Crosby. With the emergence of PK Subban as a real prospect and the continued presence of veterans Roman Hamrlik (once he returns from a knee injury) and Jaroslav Spacek, there is no shortage of ability on
Marc Andre Bergeron was used as an extra attacking option last season, and with his bullet shot and strong offensive instincts he did provide some much needed offensive punch at the back, especially when Markov was sidelined. The diminutive former
Forwards
Injuries dogged the Habs forward lines last season. Both newly appointed team Captain Brian Gionta and play-off star Mike Cammalleri missed regular season games through injury and top scorer Tomas Plekanec was the only Habs forward to play all 82 games.
If they stay fit there is no reason both Gionta and Cammalleri cannot break the 30 goal barrier, especially with Plekanec and Scott Gomez feeding them. Despite his monster contract, Gomez has the potential to be one of the games best passers and would also benefit from a quality scoring winger to play alongside for the full season.
With brother Sergei moving to pastures new, Andrei Kostitsyn will be leaned on to break the gradual decline in his numbers and reach the 50 point plateau again while Maxim Lapierre is emerging as one of the leagues ‘best’ agitators.
With a grin that gets up even the most cool, calm and collected opponents nose, Lapierre heads up an effective group of checkers and grinders which also includes Stanley Cup winner Travis Moen.
The addition of Jeff Halpren adds some experience at centre, while Lars Eller, acquired from
Summary
With much of the focus on Price and the goaltending situation,
Appointing Gionta as Captain signals an intention to continue with the gutsy and determined attitude the Canadiens displayed during the post season, and with the group of players they have it should pay dividends if they stay healthy (there’s that word again).
There is enough talent on the roster to mount an effective challenge, particularly if Price recaptures his form and in a wide open Eastern Conference Montreal could easily find themselves in the mix if they perform well.
Contact the author: rob.mcgregor@prohockeynews.com
