Montreal Canadians: 30 in 30

DP · Aug 17, 2010

NHL.com

They were in, they were out, they were in again. They were up and down and all over the place. They toyed with your emotions, captured your imagination, even possibly seized -- but hopefully not stopped -- your heart. The 2009-10 edition of the Montreal Canadiens sure were a fun, mysterious bunch.

They were nobody's preseason favorite, and didn't play like one, either, going 39-33-10 for 88 points, one more than the New York Rangers, to squeak into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. Then the magic started, as Montreal knocked off the Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, then the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, before bowing out against the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The thing about the Canadiens is, it doesn't matter what the names on the backs of jerseys are or the expectations -- realistic or nonsensical -- at the start of the season. Once the bleu blanc et rouge are two playoff rounds from winning a 25th championship -- as they were last season -- the fever pitch in Montreal for the most storied franchise in NHL history reaches riot-producing levels.

But entering 2010-11, will the excitement from a conference-final joyride subside for a team that is returning mostly unchanged, save for one Cinderella goalie? Ten months from now, will anything less than a long-overdue Cup title -- it's been 17 years! -- suffice for Canadiens fans?

The person who arguably is the biggest key to these questions is Carey Price, the soon-to-be 23-year-old goaltender GM Pierre Gauthier cleared the crease for by trading playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to St. Louis. The inconsistent Price has a 60-48-18 record in three seasons, but last season lost his hold on the starting job and went 13-20-5. So why did Halak go and not Price? Because the latter is a former NHL All-Rookie Team member, an AHL Calder Cup champion, a World Junior Championship gold-medal winner, and a CHL Goaltender of the Year. All that's missing is a Stanley Cup.

Departures
Getting back to Halak, the 271st pick of the 2003 Draft lifted the Habs on his back when Price faltered and stole two playoff rounds before running out of gas. Making a decision with his mind and not with his heart, Gauthier traded Halak to the Blues on June 17 for two exciting prospects, striking while Halak's value was high. Gauthier defended his move to critics -- mostly Canadiens fans -- when he said the decision was based on the future and not the past. Therefore, thanks for the good times, Jaroslav.

Less than two weeks after Halak was dealt, Gauthier acquired another goaltender, Dan Ellis, from Nashville in return for forward Sergei Kostitsyn. It was a calculated move that didn't pay off, as Ellis was heading toward unrestricted free agency July 1 and the two sides couldn't come to terms. Ellis eventually signed with Tampa Bay.

Two-way center Glen Metropolit defected, to play with a team in Switzerland for 2010-11.

Also not returning are fringe players Dominic Moore (Tampa Bay), Georges Laraque (retired), Gregory Stewart (Edmonton), Shawn Belle (Edmonton), Marc-Andre Bergeron (free agent) and Paul Mara (free agent).

Arrivals
The Canadiens have elected to not do too much tinkering with last season's lineup. With Halak traded and the team unable to sign Ellis, Gauthier signed veteran goaltender Alex Auld to a one-year contract. Auld, who split 2009-10 between Dallas and the New York Rangers, is a very capable backup with an 83-82-28 career record. Montreal is Auld's eighth team since 2005-06.

Also obtained from Nashville in the Kostitsyn trade was forward Dustin Boyd, the likely replacement for Metropolit as a center on the third or fourth line. Well-traveled defenseman Alexandre R. Picard, from nearby Gatineau, Que., adds depth to the blue line. He was signed away from Carolina.

Montreal's haul in the Halak trade was a pair of young forwards, 21-year-old Lars Eller and 20-year-old Ian Schultz. Of the two it appears Eller, the No. 13 pick in the 2007 Entry Draft, has the best chance of making the club in training camp, probably as the No. 3 center behind Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec. Eller had 18 goals and 57 points in 70 games with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen last season to earn a spot on the AHL's All-Rookie Team. He also produced 2 goals in a seven-game audition with the Blues.

Outlook
There is a realistic shot for the Canadiens to win the Northeast Division, as the other teams in their division haven't made earth-shattering moves to become runaway favorites. And as Montreal proved last season, anything can happen just by qualifying for the playoffs.

Truth is, the Canadiens really had no reason to make many moves this summer after overhauling the roster a year ago, when forwards Gomez, Brian Gionta, Tom Pyatt, Travis Moen and Michael Cammalleri, and defensemen Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek were brought in, as well as coach Jacques Martin. The expected line of Gomez, Gionta and Cammalleri didn't really materialize because of lengthy injuries to the latter two, but 2010-11 could be a different story, and each has 70-point potential, as does Plekanec, the club's scoring leader last season.

High-scoring defenseman Andrei Markov has an understudy this season in P.K. Subban, 21, who may emerge as a Calder Trophy finalist. After a two-game audition in February, Subban became a playoff regular and scored a goal and 8 points in 14 games. He's the latest in a deep lineage of offensive defensemen for the Habs.

If reinforcements are required at some point, other youngsters you may read about at times this coming season include Brock Trotter, Ryan White, David Desharnais and Aaron Palushaj.
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I have a feeling we saw only the beginning of the Canadians potential last season. Even though their playoff story was a Cinderella story, I still think they will play harder, and that they all learned from what they went through in the playoffs last season. Going to be interesting seeing the team play this season and see how far they go. Maybe another playoff repeat in their future?

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Montreal Canadians: 30 in 30

DP He shoots, he scores!

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Montreal Canadians: 30 in 30

DP He shoots, he scores!

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