Montreal Canadiens: The Saving Graces of the Preseason

The preseason has come and gone for the Montreal Canadiens. Although it had its struggles, there were some performances that made it worth watching.

The previous stop was Saturday September 30th against the Ottawa Senators. The next one for the Montreal Canadiens will be the regular season. This year’s preseason was pretty long compared to previous year’s. You can understand the rationale for wanting more time to test players on the ice, but eight games is a little too much.

Montreal finished the preseason with a 2-6-0 record. This had a lot of fans pretty concerned despite the fact that it didn’t matter. The preseason is mostly for the coaching staff to try out new combinations and players on the team. It’s what’s happening during the games that we should be paying attention to rather than the result.

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However, the games gave Habs fans a lot to talk about as well. Although Claude Julien was hired last February, it felt that the team was fully going to be his this season. He wanted to challenge the old players and the new to buy into his system.

Some members on the team excelled in it, and others truly struggled. That was a large part of their inability to play up to par in the first few games. They looked disengaged and irresponsible and fans were starting to worry as to whether those aspects of the preseason would find its way into the regular season.

Either way, there were players that stood out the right way and who made the preseason worth watching at times. There was already a lot of excitement and anticipation for this new year, but after some of the things we saw these last two weeks, it could be even greater than before.

Andrew Shaw

Montreal Canadiens fans were looking forward to what Andrew Shaw would do in year two with the team. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do much training this summer since he was still dealing with concussion symptoms.

He played in the team’s first preseason game but then missed the next couple because of a neck injury. Shaw finally returned to the line-up in the team’s second game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was just as physical and annoying as usual but put some salt on the other teams’ wounds by scoring.

The 26-year-old scored a goal in each of the games he played in for the preseason. The best one of the bunch had to have been his breakaway goal against the Florida Panthers.

Shaw had never been a prolific goal scorer in the NHL. His highest total was 20 back in the 2013-2014 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. Since then, Shaw would play well enough to get you at least 10 goals every year.

Yes it’s just the preseason, but could this be a sign of what’s to come? Could Shaw have another 20 goal season, but this time with the Montreal Canadiens? It would be a definite boost to the team who has made more goal-scoring one it’s main focuses.

The next question for him will be where he plays in the regular season. Shaw had a pretty good run alongside Phillip Danault and Paul Byron. It was a wierd combination of speed and grit but seemed to work out well during that game. However, it’s more likely that Alex Galchenyuk on that line which could, in a way, help Shaw get more goals or vice versa.

Either way, the two-time Stanley Cup Champion had a different feel to him this preseason. Hopefully it continues.

Brett Lernout

It’s not always the best players who make it to the end of training camp. Sometimes you’re not just cut because you weren’t good enough, but because the organization wants to give you an opportunity to play big minutes somewhere else. Case and point, Brett Lernout.

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The young defenceman had a spectacular camp and looked even better in the few preseason games he played in. All eyes had been on 2015 1st round pick Noah Juulsen. Unfortunately he sustained an injury in his first preseason game and the microscope moved elsewhere for the time being.

Lernout deserved the spotlight though. He was one of the few reliable options for the Montreal Canadiens. He was rarely caught out of position and was very physical as well. It wasn’t just your ordinary hit though. There’s a big misconception towards the importance of a hit. Even though it spreads a little intimidation along the ice, your main objective to when you hit someone is to separate them from the puck. Lernout had no problem doing that.

Another thing that stood out about Lernout’s game was his hockey sense and shot. There’s a lot of weight to that shot of his that almost got him a goal or two. He also has the ability to find people breaking out. Think back the game against the New Jersey Devils where Lernout put the puck on Torrey Mitchell‘s tape for the breakaway.

He was by far one of the better defencemen for Montreal. So all the outrage for him being cut early was definitely warranted. However, it wont be long before fans get to see him with the team.

Jacob de La Ros

There were four prospects that fans wanted to see make a drastic improvement from last year’s camp: Nikita Scherbak, Michael McCarron, and Jacob de La Rose.

McCarron was okay for the most part but had really inconsistent efforts. Some games he was engaged and hitting, and other games he would just glide around to the point where you didn’t know if he was on the ice or not.

Scherbak probably had one of, if not, the most disappointing outings this year. Not necessarily because he played poorly, although there were times that he did, but because there wasn’t any noticeable growth. Julien mentioned that management had hopes that he could take a step this season. He redeemed himself a little bit when he was played with Alex Galchenyuk and Peter Holland. The 2014 1st round pick looked a lot more dangerous and hungry than before.

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It looked like the same trend in poor play was going to happen for de La Rose. It was frustrating seeing him struggle at the start since he had the most NHL experience between the three of them. However, he started to turn it up later into the preseason.

The 22-year-old played well enough to be used in key situations in the game including the penalty kill. Slowly he began to bypass the other players at camp for that fourth line position. Holland was placed on waivers, McCarron was send down to the minors, and Mitchell wasn’t even being played.

What may have sealed the deal for him was how well he played in the final game against the Ottawa Senators.

Charles Hudon

FINALLY! For years people have continuously harped on how Charles Hudon is good enough to play in the full-time NHL. He proved it in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs and the St. John’s Ice Caps, and he even proved it in the six NHL games he’s been in. I’ve said this before, but Habs fans really need to thank the Columbus Blue Jackets for their part in him being drafted by Montreal.

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You can tell that it was the Montreal Canadiens and the Montreal Canadiens only for Hudon. Back in June, Julien told reporters that the 2012 5th round pick would be given every opportunity to make the team. He was one of the more focused and dialed in players early on in camp. He was also one of the few players to find a home line.

It may have been a fluke to play him with Tomas Plekanec and Artturi Lehkonen, but it’s definitely worked so far. All that line has done is provide the team with high energy and scoring chances.

The best thing about the 23-year-old being on the team is what it could mean for Plekanec. The Habs vet had a down year offensively last season, but playing with a skilled players like Hudon and Lehkonen could boost those numbers up.

Fans seemed to get the bigger picture of the preseason when they still would be happy with a loss if Hudon scored. Every goal scored, every one-on-one battle won, every backcheck, and every forecheck game management more reason to keep him.

Jonathan Drouin

See what I did there? As much as it was the young prospects that stole the show in the preseason for the Montreal Canadiens, Jonathan Drouin had a stellar performance as well.

Fans wanted to see the answer to the most asked question of the off-season, can Drouin play center in the NHL? Well if the preseason was any indication of what’s to come in October, December and the remainder of the year then yes.

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Drouin started off playing with Max Pacioretty and Ales Hemsky. Having the 34-year-old on that top line didn’t sit well with many fans. It made sense at first considering Hemsky was a player who could distribute the puck and drive possession on a line. However, he’s at a point in his career where he may not be able to handle the grind of top line work. That pass to Pacioretty against Washington was pretty though.

Exchanging Hemsky for Brendan Gallagher was a great move. Now you had someone who would fight those battles to get Drouin the puck, and boy the things he can do it with. However, that’s not really what’s important right now.

All the, “Drouin 4 Center”, critiques were centered (ironically) on his ability to be a center. He still needs to work on his faceoffs, but he overall he is responsible enough to play the position. The 23-year-old has given the coaching staff every reason to believe in his ability to play both ends of the ice. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters to Julien.

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Who stood out to you in the preseason? Let us know what you think in the comments.