Well, with a blink of an eye, the new NHL season is upon us. A short, but very busy offseason it was for most teams, especially the newly inducted franchise Seattle Kraken. They just played their first NHL game yesterday, losing at the hand of the Vegas Golden Knights, the most recent expansion franchise to enter the NHL back in 2017. It was a ver entertaining game, with the Knights taking it 4-3. Well see what Seattle has to offer the rest of the way. Also in action, the defending Stanley Cup Champions and back to back winner Tampa Bay Lightning, were up against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who made the bolts look like they were still in offseason mode, taking that one 6-2.
Now, let’s get down to business: the Montreal Canadiens. What an absolute run it was in the playoffs, absolutely shattering expectations and making it to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993. Of course, getting handed that loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games, but a lot of positives headed into the offseason. However, things took an unexpected turn.
It was announced that Shea Weber, the team’s captain and leader, would be out for the 2021-2022 season with injuries that plagued him during the playoffs, and now is facing the possibility of never playing again. General Manager, Marc Bergevin, mentioned it was going to be impossible to replace what Weber brought to the Habs on and off the ice, so he knew he had to fill Weber’s role by committee. The signing of defenceman David Savard to a 4 year, $16 million contract, fills in some of the aspects that Weber brought, but nonetheless will be an important player for the Habs. Chris Wideman, signed from the KHL who won Defensive Player of the Year, will be counted on to provide offence from the backend, primarily on the powerplay. Savard and Wideman are more than capable of at least providing some stability with the loss of Weber.
At the forward group, primarily the centre position, got shaken up with the loss of Philip Danault and Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Danault signed a six year, $33 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings, while Kotkaniemi signed an offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes to a one year, $6.1 million contract. While Danault was dominant defensively, it was the complete opposite offensively, so it’s safe to say, while he did get the money he wanted, Bergevin and the Habs dodged a bullet, while not forgetting he rejected a similar contract from the Habs back in March.
Kotkaniemi’s camp voiced his frustrations during the playoffs, where Kotkaniemi was in and out of the lineup for most of the games. While he did score big goals when he was in the lineup, his inconsistent play kept proving he was a liability. When Montreal selected Kotkaniemi 3rd overall in 2018, they picked him with the sole purpose of becoming a #1 centre for years to come. Evidently, the Habs thought that he was never ready to embrace that role, but then again, they brought him in straight from Finland after being drafted, and was being juggled around every player and line like a hot potato, so it could go both ways to who’s at fault. Nonetheless, Montreal electing not to match gives them and Kotkaniemi a fresh start, and Montreal gaining 2 picks from Carolina as compensation.
Without hesitating, Bergevin went out and acquired Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes for a conditional 1st round pick and 2nd round pick. Dvorak immediately fills that 2nd line centre spot behind Nick Suzuki. Dvorak, 25 years old, signed at 4.45 million for the next 4 years, which is a bargain, can play in all areas of the game, and will be heavily relied upon by head coach Dominic Ducharme with the absence of Danault and Kotkaniemi.
Mike Hoffman was a surprise signing by Marc Bergevin, who continues to add to his already stacked forward/winger group, along with Josh Anderson, Tyler Toffoli, Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, etc. He will help the powerplay with his lethal shot, and add depth to the winger group.
Mathieu Perreault, Cedric Paquette will add grit and tenacity to the 4th line and depth. Montreal also claimed Adam Brooks from Toronto, who will help the centre position, and leave Ryan Poehling in Laval to get stronger and develop his skills even more.
Carey Price will be out for a minimum of 30 days for entering the NHL/NHLPA Help program. Jake Allen will assume the starting role, and recently claimed Samuel Montambeault will back him up until Price has returned. Here’s the potential lineup for tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs:
Tyler Toffoli-Nick Suzuki-Cole Caufield
Jonathan Drouin- Christian Dvorak-Josh Anderson
Joel Armia(Hoffman)-Jake Evans-Brendan Gallagher
Mathieu Perreault(Lehkonen)-Cedric Paquette-Arturri Lehkonen(Armia)
Alexander Romanov(Edmundson)-Jeff Petry
Ben Chiarot-David Savard
Brett Kulak(Romanov)-Chris Wideman
Jake Allen(Price)
Samuel Montambeault(Allen)
PREDICTED FINISH: 3RD IN ATLANTIC, behind Florida, Tampa Bay, with Boston and Toronto right behind. GO HABS GO!!!!!!!!
JV Sports Blog 