Habs News: 2020-21 Montreal Canadiens Season Predictions, Offensive Leaders, MVP, Outstanding Rookie, Disappointment, Playoffs
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — The first week of training camp is in the books. Since the start of camp, Montreal is undefeated in the two games they’ve played. I decided to take the positives out of those matchups even though officially they’re considered scrimmages.
Camp ends on Tuesday before the Canadiens head to Toronto to face the Maple Leafs on Wednesday, and then Edmonton to face the Oilers twice starting on Saturday.
I will look into my crystal ball, and share some key Canadiens predictions in this season that will be unlike any other. Call me crazy – I’ve been called worse.
To review my predictions ahead of the 2019-20 season, you can click here. I might be biased, but in my eyes, I did well.
Leading Goal Scorer
Brendan Gallagher will lead the team in goals for the fourth consecutive season. He scored 22 times in 59 games in 2019-20, which represents 30 goals in a full 82-game season. He was on pace of attaining the 30-goal mark for the third consecutive season.
Gallagher will play on a line with Philip Danault, and Tomas Tatar. The trio has had offensive success since they’ve played together, and I expect that to continue this season.
“You know what they can bring on a nightly basis. They’ve proven themselves over the last couple of years to be one of the better lines five-on-five at producing,” Claude Julien said about the line.
“It’s not like the puck is always on one guy’s stick or the puck is stalled with someone. It’s usually moving around – all three guys are involved – and everyone knows where the other guys are going to be, so it just happens a little bit quicker. I think the movement and the cohesiveness, and whatever it is we have together, works,” Gallagher said about his trio.
The new look power play units that we saw last week have bumped Gallagher from the first to the second wave. This move shouldn’t affect Gallagher’s production as only 13 of his 86 goals in the last three seasons have been with the man advantage.
Offensive Leader
I expect Nick Suzuki to continue his progression, and finish with the most points on the team. Suzuki led the team – tied with Jonathan Drouin – with seven points in 10 games during the post season.
“He has the potential to be an impact player. He’s a guy with good maturity and good confidence, but he’s far from arrogant. He’s very humble. He knows his strengths and his confidence level. Since he joined us, we’ve always said that he’s an intelligent player. He reads the play well. These traits will make him an impact player this season,” the coach said.
Suzuki will also get the opportunity to be part of the top power play unit, and that will help his production. He was tied with Tatar last season for most points on the power play with 14.
Suzuki’s Usage
Suzuki will center a line with Drouin to his left and Josh Anderson to his right. The Suzuki – Drouin duo had some chemistry at the end of the post season run, and they hope to build on that with the addition of Anderson.
“There was one play in practice where he just took off. Me and [Drouin] were off to the side and we just looked at each other and smiled. We knew we couldn’t wait to get that down our wing. He’s big and fast. I think he fits us as a line perfectly,” Suzuki said on Anderson.
“I got the opportunity to play with [Drouin] in the World Juniors. You can just see the skill on him. He’s just so smooth and silky and I’m excited to play with him. With Suzuki there, you could just see the speed and the work ethic. He’s a pretty quick player out there and works hard at both ends of the ice. He’s really smart, too. He makes some nice plays, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play with both of those guys. It should be a good line,” Anderson said about his new linemates.
Julien is not known to have patience with young players on his team. We saw an example last season with Kotkaniemi prior to his demotion to Laval. It wasn’t the case with Suzuki. Julien gave Suzuki regular ice time throughout the year even though he felt that the player was fatigued. I expect Julien to tolerate mistakes made by Suzuki this season.
Outstanding Rookie
Alexander Romanov and Jake Evans are the only rookies that I expect to play regularly with the Canadiens this season. Romanov will likely have the most impact with the team in 2021. Romanov has been paired to the right of Brett Kulak since the start of camp. He has also been the only defenceman on the second power play unit.
“I think [Romanov] is adjusting really fast. We don’t have time – the camp is the fastest I’ve seen ever – but [Romanov] jumped right in the team, and obviously we like his speed, he’s got some good skill asset too. I think he’s going to be really good for us, but we have to give him time but for me, he looks pretty much ready,” Danault said on Saturday.
Romanov’s Work Ethic
Romanov has been first on the ice and last off the ice daily at the training camp. He has impressed his teammates.
“He plays games like he does in practice. He’s pretty physical, he’s strong. You just see this guy in the gym every day and see how big his legs are. That’s one thing that stands out. He’s a really strong kid and his work ethic is pretty incredible for a young guy, so he’s looking pretty good out there,” Anderson said.
“He’s good. Smooth skater, good hands and he puts in the work. You can tell. He’s in the gym every day. He puts in extra time in there. He’s a young kid that’s got a lot of skill and he’s hungry, so I’m excited to see what he does this season,” said Joel Edmundson.
“He plays at 100 percent every single time. Even like the little drills, you can see he’s going hard, he’s finishing his checks, and you have to earn every piece of ice with him,” added Toffoli.
Most Likely to Disappoint
I went on the record that Edmundson’s acquisition was unnecessary since the Canadiens already have physical defensemen in Shea Weber and Ben Chiarot. I have read fans on social media posting on how opponents will avoid Edmundson’s side of the ice because of his size. It takes more than being physical to be a useful defender in the National Hockey League, and I think fans will be disappointed with his overall game.
Edmundson comes from St. Louis and Carolina, where he played man-to-man defensive system to Montreal, where a zone defensive system is utilized. Karl Alzner struggled to adapt, and it took time for Chiarot to get comfortable last season. A 56-game schedule with a short camp, no exhibition games, and limited practice time doesn’t bode well for Edmundson to succeed.
Edmundson’s Role
Edmundson has been used on the second defensive pairing with Jeff Petry, and is capable of playing on both sides of the ice. He’s also expected to play on the penalty kill unit.
“He’s a gritty guy, he plays hard. He’s a big body that’s going to make it difficult on the opposing teams. He should help on the penalty kill and a great guy in the locker room,” said the captain. Weber has been training and skating with Edmundson during the off-season for the last couple of years.
“He’s a real solid, smooth defenceman. You’re not going to see him a lot on the scoresheet or making crazy plays. He’s just reliable, he’s got a good stick. He obviously takes up a lot of space,” said Jake Allen.
“He can move, he can shoot, he can jump into the rush. He’s just solid, he’s going to log quality minutes for you – the hard minutes – and he’s a tough presence back there. He’s not scared of anyone, he lays the body, he’ll drop the gloves if he needs to,” added Allen who was teammates with Edmundson in St. Louis.
High Expectations
I think that this was Bergevin’s best off-season in his tenure with the Canadiens. He made several improvements to the team without giving up any significant assets. Last season, the organization used injuries as a reason they struggled in the regular season. Bergevin has added depth to the squad for this upcoming season.
“We have high expectations internally. We won’t hide that. We have to perform,” Bergevin when asked about his expectations. The message sent by the general manager is different than prior seasons when the goal was to make the playoffs.
“My expectations are the same as Marc’s. We’re really happy with the players we’ve added. We like the way we played in the playoffs and we like the direction we’re headed. We believe we have an improved team with the players that Marc brought on board. The expectations are high and with good reason,” added the coach.
Bergevin acquired five Stanley Cup winners during the off-season. It wasn’t a coincidence. It’s now up to Julien, a former Stanley Cup winner, to get the most out of this group of players assembled by his boss.
Will they make the playoffs?
I project that the Canadiens will finish in the top-four of the Scotia NHL North Division to earn a playoff spot. Montreal has an elite goaltending tandem, a deep forward group, and a good defensive group.
Julien and his coaching staff need to make sure that this roster that looks good on paper, translates into results on the ice. The coaches need to assure that there’s no steep learning curve for their new acquisitions.
I think that this roster is also built to win a playoff series. It’s not a statement that I have been able to make over the last couple of years.
How about the Stanley Cup? I don’t think we should get ahead of ourselves. According to Sports Betting Dime, the Canadiens odds of winning the Stanley Cup this season will start at +5000. Those aren’t the greatest odds, but once a team makes it in the playoffs, anything can happen. Where have I heard that before?
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