Habs News: Projected Montreal Canadiens Roster on NHL Opening Night In October vs Carolina Hurricanes
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — With the Canadiens training camp set to begin in a couple of weeks, it’s highly unlikely that Marc Bergevin will make any significant changes to the roster prior to the start of the regular season. I think that any changes that we may see from now until opening night in Carolina on October 3rd would involve a move to avoid losing a player on waivers.
Last season, the Canadiens lost three players on waivers: Jacob De La Rose to Detroit on October 17th, Nikita Scherbak to Los Angeles on December 2nd, and Kenny Agostino to New Jersey on February 11th. It’s a situation that I expect Bergevin wants to avoid repeating.
I have written before that I believe that the current roster is similar to last season, and I’m not expecting any different results unless more changes are made to the roster. The team has missed the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. Under no circumstances can the Canadiens not earn a playoff spot this year.
Forwards
Last season, the Canadiens finished an impressive fifth in the league in five-on-five scoring with 188 goals. With Andrew Shaw getting traded to the Chicago Blackhawks over the summer, this will create a spot in the top-six. A lot was said about Shaw’s contribution in the locker room and his work ethic on the ice, but he also contributed offensively by scoring 19 goals and 28 assists in 63 games played last season. The team will need to find a replacement that can produce at the same pace.
Here are my projected forward lines for opening night:
Tomas Tatar and Philip Danault had their best NHL seasons playing together with Brendan Gallagher last year, therefore I would expect that they start the season playing together. Gallagher also scored a personal high 33 goals in 2018-19. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I also think that the line of Artturi Lehkonen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Joel Armia played well together last season. I think that the three Finnish players complement each other well. Kotkaniemi showed last season that he’s a creative playmaker who can create scoring chances for his linemates. Armia scored 13 goals in 57 games last season, which prorates to 19 goals in a full 82 game season. Lehkonen’s strength is on the defensive side of the game, but if we exclude last season, he has shown that he can score 15-20 goals in a season.
That leaves Jonathan Drouin, Max Domi, and Jordan Weal as the second line. Domi had a personal best season last year, while Drouin started the season well by putting up 46 points on the board in his first 55 games. He then followed that sequence by collecting seven points in his last 26 games. If Drouin is able to produce offensively at the same pace he did at the start of the last year, it will be a successful season for him.
Ryan Poehling had a remarkable NHL debut by scoring a hat trick and added the game winning goal during the shootout in his first game in the league. That performance alone will give him an opportunity to start the season in Montreal. We have heard coaches in the past mention that it’s hard to play centre in the NHL, and use that as a reason to start players on the wing before gradually moving them to centre.
I think that Nick Cousins and Charles Hudon will be sitting in the press box on opening night. Dale Weise, Matthew Peca, Michael McCarron, Riley Barber and Philip Varone would all need to clear waivers before being sent to Laval.
Defence
Bergevin has always been a fan of having a lot of defensemen on his roster. It’s the case once again this season. Last year, Xavier Ouellet and Karl Alzner spent most of the season in Laval. David Schlemko did the same prior to getting traded to the Flyers.
Here are my projected defensive pairings for opening night:
There was a lot of time spent by media, experts, and fans discussing Shea Weber‘s defensive partner for this upcoming season. Free agent Jake Gardiner was on top of a lot of wish lists, but it seems that Weber will be paired once again with Victor Mete.
The left side of the defence was identified as a position that needed to be improved, but Bergevin hasn’t been able to make an upgrade during the off-season. The Canadiens lost Jordie Benn in free agency as he signed with the Canucks, and he was replaced by Ben Chiarot. The only reason Chiarot is on my projected second defensive pairing is that I don’t think the organization gave him a three-year $10.5-million contract to play on the third pairing.
You’re probably surprised to see that Noah Juulsen isn’t included in my proposed lineup. Juulsen played 21 games with the Canadiens and three games with the Rocket before having his season ended with a vision-related issue. He played his final game on December 27th. It would make sense that he starts the season in Laval, due to his long absence and the fact that he’s exempt from waivers. Any other reason that the organization would have rushed to sign Christian Folin to a new contract in April?
In this scenario, Mike Reilly would be the extra defenceman on opening night. Xavier Ouellet, Karl Alzner, and Gustav Olofsson would need to clear waivers before headed to Laval. If Ouellet has a good training camp, I can see another team have interest in his services.
Goalies
In goal, I think it’s a lock that Carey Price will be the starter and that Keith Kinkaid will be his backup. Charlie Lindgren finished the season as the Canadiens number three goalie, a role that was created at the end of last season once the coaching staff lost confidence in Antti Niemi. It’s safe to assume that there won’t be three goalies to start the season in Montreal. Lindgren would need to clear waivers before heading to Laval, which I think he would.
Impact to Rocket
For the readers hoping that Nick Suzuki start the season in Montreal, I think you will be disappointed. The good news is that you will be able to see him nearby at Place Bell in Laval. If there’s no changes and injuries from now until October 3rd, the Rocket should expect to get players that can impact their lineup from Montreal. You can read my projected lineup for Laval’s opening night on the AHL Report by clicking here.
By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
Copyright © 2019 Rocket Sports
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