The Hockey Information Yearbook Has the Canadiens Ending Useless Final within the Atlantic Division

No person’s saying the upcoming season shall be a stroll within the park within the Atlantic division. The reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will nonetheless be a drive to be reckoned with, the perennial contender Tampa Bay Lightning has changed an growing old Steven Stamkos with essentially the most extremely sought-after free agent Jake Guentzel, the Toronto Maple Leafs carry on profitable (within the common season) and the Boston Bruins can by no means be counted for lifeless.

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After the 4 huge weapons so to talk, you have received the perennial rebuilders Buffalo Sabres who’ve been on the cusp of competing for years and who’ve lastly solidified their goaltending; Steve Yzerman’s Detroit Red Wings who’ve added two-time Stanley Cup champion Vladimir Tarasenko and Cam Talbot; and the winners of the Linus Ullmark derby, the Ottawa Senators.

That is a whole lot of stiff competitors, however I believe placing the Montreal Canadiens lifeless final is overly detrimental. It is price remembering the Yearbook was put collectively lengthy earlier than GM Kent Hughes rocked the Summer time with the Patrik Laine-Jordan Harris commerce. The publication nonetheless slots Laine on the Columbus Blue Jackets‘ first line alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau who has since met an agonizingly premature loss of life which introduced the hockey world to a standstill.

Related: Montreal Canadiens React To Gaudreau Brothers Passing

There are a couple of elements which might go a protracted method to making certain the Canadiens do not end final of the divisional pack come season’s finish, listed below are my prime three.

Kirby Dach‘s Continued Development

In his two seasons since arriving from Chicago, Dach has performed a grand whole of 60 video games. He had sophisticated harm points in his first season and suffered a well-documented knee harm lower than two video games into the 2023-24 marketing campaign.

Nonetheless, he did have time to point out that he can carry out very properly as a middle within the NHL and he was simply coming into his personal when an harm in late March ended his 2022-23 season.

Related: Inside the Injury: Examining Dach’s Road to Recovery | Canadiens Connection ep 266

Ultimately camp, he appeared to be in unbelievable type and was linking up very properly with Juraj Slafkovsky on the ice till he met Jared Tinordi by the Blackhawks bench and suffered a freak harm.

The Canadiens’ teaching employees spent the entire 12 months attempting to maintain Dach as concerned as potential whereas he was rehabbing his knee following surgical procedure. That they had him sit in on teaching conferences and requested him to learn movies to make sure he saved working towards his determination making and he remained engaged with the group tradition.

If Dach can have a wholesome season and choose up proper the place he left off, he shall be an enormous a part of the explanation why the Canadiens will not end on the backside of the Atlantic just like the Titanic. The Canadiens with the ability to depend on a second actual offensive line would assist alleviate the strain on their prime unit shaped by Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Slafkovsky. The captain had his best season whereas underneath excessive scrutiny from the most effective defensive gamers within the league who had no different line to fret about in Montreal. If the previous third total Blackhawks choose on the 2019 draft could make his line an actual top-six line, Montreal’s offense ought to be capable to be that rather more productive.

Patrik Laine‘s Integration

Laine’s profession within the NHL hasn’t been straightforward to date. He is had a couple of productive seasons in Winnipeg earlier than requesting a commerce apparently as a result of he clashed with the Jets’ veteran management.

He spent the following 4 seasons in Columbus, tormented by accidents and preventing psychological well being points. He sought assist from the NHL/NHLPA Participant Help Program and acquired it. Earlier than even being out of this system he let or not it’s recognized he wished a recent begin elsewhere. Reportedly, one thing occurred within the dressing room and it did not sit proper with him.

Related: Canadiens: About the Harris-Laine Trade

A cheerful participant is a productive participant. If the Habs brass can guarantee he feels proper at house in Montreal and a part of the workforce tradition, Laine might conceivably return to type. Because the Canadiens GM likes to say, Laine hasn’t forgotten learn how to play hockey.

Moreover, he is precisely the sort of participant who might thrive underneath Martin St-Louis‘ tutelage. The Canadiens’ pilot likes to see his gamers learn the sport and react, make the most effective determination with the data that is unfolding in entrance of them and that is one thing Laine might do very properly.

Hughes has managed to put in an ideal tradition within the Canadiens’ room to date and the workforce’s management appears to be totally on board with Laine’s acquisition. One can due to this fact count on that each effort shall be made to make him really feel welcome on his new workforce and he has mentioned that he has picked up some coping mechanisms to not keep too down on himself when the going will get powerful from the Participant Help Program.

If he feels glad and settles in his new digs, the large Finn shouldn’t have any downside getting again to his scoring methods, as soon as he shakes off any rust amassed that’s.

The Goaltending

The threesome is not any extra, Jake Allen has left the constructing eventually 12 months’s commerce deadline leaving Samuel Montembeault because the primary goalie and Cayden Primeau comfortably put in in his position of backup.

Final season, the Canadiens misplaced 36 video games by a single purpose. With a bit extra offense, a few of these losses might of turned wins however the identical will be mentioned concerning the protection. Slicing down the variety of objectives allowed would even have gone a good distance towards reaching the identical outcome.

Now that each goaltenders have extra stability and know what to anticipate, there must be an enchancment within the objectives allowed class. Much less objectives allowed results in much less losses, it is simple arithmetic.

As talked about yesterday, this shall be a contract 12 months for Primeau and he’ll be keen to point out that he deserves to be saved on this workforce going ahead. Montembeault is underneath contract for 3 years as issues stand and as soon as these three years are over, he shall be an unrestricted free agent. There’s little doubt in my thoughts that the plan shall be to check the marketplace for the 30-year-old then.

By then Jacob Fowler ought to have graduated from the NCAA and perhaps even performed a season within the AHL. If he is nonetheless the inheritor obvious by then, the Canadiens might have a cease hole choice and that could possibly be Primeau or Jakub Dobes relying on how the latter performs in Laval within the foreseeable future. There’s nothing like wholesome inner competitors to foster development and enchancment.

If issues go properly for the Canadiens in these three departments, I consider they’re going to keep away from being lifeless final within the division. I do not consider they’re going to be making the playoffs however that definitely will not be for lack of attempting. If every thing goes based on plan this 12 months, we can’t know by Christmas that the CH will not be capable to punch its ticket to the playoffs.