Montreal Canadiens: Have to Overcome Unprecedented Changes to Start Well

The Montreal Canadiens made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

They were not handed anything on that run as they had to defeat Stanley Cup hopefuls in the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Vegas Golden Knights on their journey to the final.

It was quite a run, and led some fans to believe general manager Marc Bergevin built a team that was far from perfect, but well built for the postseason.

If they are going to put that idea to the test in the 2022 postseason, they are going to have to overcome some major changes to the roster. While the playoff run of last season was definitely something to celebrate, the offseason was one of surprising moves, bad news, a few head-scratching decisions and farewells to fan favourites.

All of it added up, and the Canadiens are now going to have to overcome an unprecedented offseason of change if they are going to get off to a quick start to the season.

Just look back to the start of last season. There were several additions made before the year but the one thing we knew we could count on was the terrific two-way play of the Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar line. Also, the leadership and experience of Shea Weber and Carey Price ensured the team would not crack under the immense pressure of playing in Montreal.

Well, after the Stanley Cup Final run, it only took a couple of days before we learned Weber was going to miss the entire 2021-22 season and would likely never play again. His litany of injuries is just too much to play through anymore.

Shortly after, it was announced Price would also require surgery. While he was left unprotected in the expansion draft, he was not picked, and then suddenly it seemed like he could be ready for the start of the regular season. Then, as we all heard by now, Price entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and will be away from the team for 30 days.

When free agency opened up on July 28, Phillip Danault was quick to sign with the Los Angeles Kings. While keeping him would have made little sense at the price it would have cost, Danault was a key player in shutting down Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Kyle Connor, Nik Ehlers, Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone in the postseason.

His usual linemate Tatar didn’t have a big impact in the postseason, but he was one of the team’s top scorers in each of the past three seasons.

An injury will also keep Paul Byron out of the lineup to begin the season. Jesperi Kotkaniemi moved on to the Carolina Hurricanes thanks to a lucrative one year offer sheet that he signed. Both of those forwards were on the third line for most of the playoffs, and fourth liners Eric Staal and Corey Perry also moved on in free agency.

To sum it all up, that means the Habs lost two-thirds of their most reliable two-way line in Danault and Tatar. Two-thirds of their playoff bottom six with Kotkaniemi, Byron, Perry and Staal leaving and their two biggest leaders and defensive anchors in Weber and Price.

Add to that it looks like Joel Edmundson won’t be able to start the year on time and the Canadiens are a much different looking team than the one we saw end last season.

There are some interesting new additions with Mike Hoffman, though he out with injury to begin the year as well, David Savard, Mathieu Perreault and Christian Dvorak. But it is going to be difficult to make up for all the leadership, experience and talent that will not be here to start the season.