Do you think the Canadiens are making the playoffs this season, or are we one more year away from really competing?
Luc Leblanc
If Patrik Laine can regain the goal-scoring form he had in Winnipeg, the Canadiens should be able to stay in playoff contention longer than in the previous three seasons. However, I don’t think Laine is enough to get them into the postseason — especially in the very tough Atlantic Division. Even if Laine does score 30-plus goals, the offence will drop off after the first two lines and there will be a young defence corps playing in front of the goaltending duo of Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau. The arrival of Ivan Demidov next season, along with whatever moves GM Kent Hughes might make before next season, should have the Canadiens in a better position to compete seriously for a playoff spot a year from now.
How many points do you think Laine will put up this season?
mdvancouver on X @gmdvancouver
It will really be interesting to see what kind of impact head coach Martin St. Louis has on Laine, who wasn’t happy in Winnipeg or Columbus. There are a lot of red flags concerning Laine — similar to Pierre-Luc Dubois, who didn’t work out well during his one season with the Los Angeles Kings after he wasn’t happy in Columbus and Winnipeg and he has now been traded to Washington.
As Hughes puts it, players don’t forget how to play hockey and Laine certainly hasn’t forgotten how to score goals. I’d expect Laine to score 20-25 goals and have about 50 points. But if any coach can get more out of him it’s probably St. Louis.
What’s your take on the goalie tandem of Montembeault/Primeau being enough? Will they have enough support from the current defence keeping shots from the outside, etc?
Catattawhale on X @catattawhale
As noted above, goaltending is one of the big question marks heading into this season. Montembeault has shown he can give his team a chance to win on most nights, but he’s not going to steal games the way Carey Price could. This is also a big season for Primeau in the final year of his contract. There will be pressure on him and it will be interesting to see if he can handle it. The Canadiens gave up the third-most shots against in the NHL last season (33.4 per game) and I don’t expect them to improve much in that category with more young defencemen in the lineup.
Any chance having Laine on the team will inspire Joel Armia to elevate his game?
Paul Martin
Armia certainly elevated his game last season after getting a big wakeup call by being sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket not once, but twice. Armia scored six goals in the last 12 games, giving him 17 for the season. He is heading into the final season of his contract, which should be added motivation. Having a fellow Finn on the team might also help inspire Armia — especially if they get any time as linemates.
What do you think if Montreal has like US$16 million on the third line with Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak and Josh Anderson?
Joe on X @jjtotall
It certainly looks like that will be the third line with a salary-cap hit of US$16.45 million with Gallagher (US$6.5 million), Anderson (US$5.5 million) and Dvorak (US$4.45 million). Last season they combined for 30 goals — 16 by Gallagher, nine by Anderson and five by Dvorak. They’d need to almost double that for the Canadiens to have any chance of making the playoffs and that seems very unlikely.
Gallagher will always give 100-per-cent effort on every shift and plays his best when he has regular linemates. So maybe he can click with the other two if they stay together. Anderson looked totally lost last season and will be looking to prove that was just one bad season and that age (30) and his shoulder surgery four years ago before former GM Marc Bergevin acquired him from Columbus hasn’t caught up to him. Dvorak has shown he can’t stay healthy, missing 96 games during his three seasons with the Canadiens. Thankfully for the Canadiens this is the last season of Dvorak’s contract, while Gallagher and Anderson both have three years left.
Haven’t heard too much about Owen Beck’s prospects for this year. Watched him at the world junior tournament and was impressed by his 200-foot play.
Gary Geiring
Beck’s 200-foot play, his hockey IQ and his ability to win faceoffs are big reasons why the Canadiens selected him in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. I think a full season playing in the AHL for the Rocket will be best for his development. But if (when?) there are injuries with the Canadiens I can see him being one of the first players called up if he’s playing well in Laval. I believe he definitely has a future with the Canadiens.
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