Montreal Canadiens season preview: Carey Price will carry the Habs along the way
Plus: The Montreal Canadiens still possess the best goalie in the world in Carey Price, who proved time after time last season that he is capable of stealing wins. The reigning Hart, Vezina, Jennings and Lindsay Trophy winner will once again be in the hunt for individual honors. With a solid core of defensemen and two-way forwards in front of him, the Canadiens simply rely on sitting back, taking their hits and waiting for their turn to pounce on the opposition.
Minus: Sitting back, taking your hits and waiting for your turn to pounce on your opposition is a dangerous strategy if you struggle to score goals, and Montreal struggles to score goals. The team finished with 221 goals last season, 19th lowest total in the league and the lowest among teams that qualified for the playoffs. Outside of Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Lars Eller and David Desharnais the Canadiens don’t have much scoring among their forwards. In fact, Montreal dressed 10 different forwards last year who played at least 10 different games that scored four goals or less.
X-Factor: Alex Semin
The Canadiens were quiet when it came to offseason signings. Despite the obvious need for offensive players, the Habs had one primary offensive signing in Alexander Semin (they also recently signed forward Tomas Fleischmann off of a PTO contract). Semin was bought out of his remaining three-year deal in which he’d make $21 million by the Carolina Hurricanes after an abysmal six-goal season. The Canadiens have a bit more skill up front than the Hurricanes, so a bigger season should be expected from the forward with seven 20-or-more-goal seasons on his resume. Semin can potentially be the key scoring piece Montreal desperately needs.
Prediction: Price once again lifts the team and carries the Habs to the playoffs. The team will continue to struggle to score despite a resurrecting season from Semin and a vast improvement in Galchenyuk’s play. Price does as much as he can to bring the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup, but he will simply be overpowered by some of the great offenses the Eastern Conference has to offer.
