Excerpt from SI.com’s Allan Muir who likes the Habs to repeat as Northeast division champs:
STRENGTHS: Balanced offense and the deadly power play
How ’bout them Flying Frenchmen? Despite the presence of just one player, Alexei Kovalev, among the top 40 scorers, Montreal’s offense ranked as the league’s second-best. Its potency was fueled by the 24.1 percent success rate of the power play, a unit that thrived despite the loss of QB Sheldon Souray to free agency the previous summer.
That’s a good sign. This year’s team has to adapt to the loss of another QB, Streit, but could prove even more dangerous. Tanguay not only gives them another alternative on the point, but he’ll anchor a potent second line alongside Lang. That leaves Montreal with three high-end offensive units, loaded with speed and guile, if not a lot of sandpaper. And with four players — Tanguay, Lang, Kovalev and Saku Koivu — entering their contract years, this will be a highly motivated group.