Montreal Canadiens: Storylines and battles heading into training camp

Training camp is here for the Montreal Canadiens and its bound to be filled with some interesting storylines and heated roster battles.

It was back on April 7th, 2018 when the Montreal Canadiens would play the final game of the 2018-19 season. Patrick Marleau of the Toronto Maple Leafs would score in the remaining ten (10) seconds of the game to put the team up 4-2. Michael McCarron had the last play of the season for the Habs, a centre-ice faceoff against Tomas Plekanec. He won the draw, but the team lost the game, it’s 40th to be exact.

The rest of the league went on the compete in the playoffs while the Habs had their locker cleanouts at the worst point of the year. There was frustration and disappointment in that locker, but a clear understanding of what had to happen next. Marc Bergevin and Geoff Molson pinpointed the team’s attitude as one of the bigger issues of the year. It could never be solved dating back to the training camp, and it was one of the things that inhibited them all season.

Obviously, there were other things, but management focused on that. Change surely came, and not only at the NHL level. Now after over five (5) months of waiting, training camp is here. It beings with media day leading to Friday where the Montreal Canadiens start their on-ice sessions ahead of the intrasquad game on Sunday.

Montreal is still going into this season as one of the league’s more fascinating teams. Bergevin, as well as members of the team, have expressed a desire to get back to the playoffs, but the jury is out as to whether they can do it. You also have to think of their prospect pool which has taken a lot of strides where some hope to turn pro at both the NHL and/or AHL levels.

There are also a lot of battles set to take place which should make those preseason games far more entertaining than what we saw last year.

Training camp will be the place to see a lot of these events take place, and I’m going to bring to your attention some of the things to keep your eye on.

Is Carey Price back to being Carey Price?

Holding the performance on a single player is unfair at times. That said, Carey Price was far from his usual self, and that impacted the Montreal Canadiens heavily. It was the perfect storm to occur as the team wasn’t good defensively and didn’t have the buffer or safety net in Price to back them up.

Losing Shea Weber to injury for the rest of the season was a big chunk of that. But it also came down to simple execution in their own end.

Price has a comfortable aura to him, and it was at its peak during the annual golf tournament. The 30-year-old told reporters that he had a good summer getting his body and mind right to start the year off. He also mentioned how a lot of people have already written the Habs off which could only prove to fuel them to prove those doubters wrong. If it doesn’t drive the rest of the team, then it definitely looks like Price will benefit from the emotionally fuelled boost.

Another thing to point out, which again may not be fair, are the playoff implications to an outstanding performance from Price. He’s the best goaltender in the world, and if on his game, the Habs will have a chance to win every night. Perhaps that squeaks enough wins and points to get them into a playoff spot, but it’ll be difficult if the rest of the team aren’t doing their part in the process.

Answering the question of whether he is back to his old self may be hard to answer at camp. But watching Price play could provide a steady framework to getting one.

Niemi vs. Lindgren

While we’re on the topic of goaltenders, there are two fighting for the backup position behind Price. Before the season ended, it looked like Charlie Lindgren was finally going to get a full-time spot on the team. He proved he could put together a set of NHL starts and was strong in net for Montreal.

Unfortunately, he fell victim to the Habs defensive breakdowns. But the 24-year-old managed to have some nights that Price himself would be proud of.

The thing is, so did Niemi. His story from the beginning of the year to the finale was well-worth the nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy. Niemi went from two awful stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers respectively to finding some stability in Montreal, to a lot of people’s surprise (including my own).

The 35-year-old’s first start against the Nashville Predators was a solid one despite it ending in the shootout. In fact, Niemi didn’t have too many poor starts save for the Saturday night game against the Vegas Golden Knights (ha irony).

He worked for that one-year extension and deserved the extended look in Montreal. Nothing is set in stone though. What’s to say Niemi has another slow start and needs to find his game in the minors again? That could pave the way for Lindgren to make the team to start the season. The easier option is the latter, and that’s where the battle comes into play.

Management would have no problem at all with Lindgren playing a full season as the number one for the Laval Rocket. The AHL club weren’t exactly the ’95 Devils, to say the least, and his stats suffered because of it. Lindgren must force the hand of Claude Julien as the odds are stacked against him to win the battle.

A Triple Threat Match

It’s safe to say the pay-per-view event at Montreal Canadiens-mania for the fourth-line centre spot is between Jacob de La Rose, Matthew Peca, and Michael McCarron.

The Habs avoided salary arbitration signing de La Rose to a two-year $900,000 deal. His play took a turn to the more positive end after the Plekanec trade allowed him to play with Alex Galchenyuk and Artturi Lehkonen. It was as if the 23-year-old was finally able to work to his strengths. Offence isn’t de La Rose’s thing, but he can create time and space for the more skilled players on the ice and allow them to work their magic in the offensive zone.

Peca, however, is competition for de La Rose as he can generate a lot offensively through his playmaking ability. The free agent signed a two-year $1.3 million per deal during Free Agent Frenzy, and Bergevin expects him to be on the team. His resume in the NHL is limited, but his speed and vision can provide the bottom nine with some firepower. Especially if Peca lines up with a player such as Charles Hudon who spews out shots and scoring chances.

McCarron is the off-man out of the fight and has a large mountain to climb to make the team in my opinion. He finally chose to sign his qualifying offer, and this looks to be his final chance. Can he force Julien’s hand and make the team? Seeing the two players he has to go against, there’s a strong disadvantage against him.

Perhaps he stakes his engagement and defensive play to a whole new level. But that may not be enough to sway the coaching staff.

New Forward Lines

There will have to be some new forward lines. How does that whole ordeal play out? We know for a fact that Jonathan Drouin and Phillip Danault will be the one (1) and two (2) down the middle. Plekanec is likely to take one of those bottom nine holes as well.

The placement of the wingers could take some time to figure out. Max Domi and Joel Armia are among the bigger additions of the offseason. Domi spent time last year playing centre with the Arizona Coyotoes, but that doesn’t look like it’ll be an option with the Montreal Canadiens. However, he was praised by his head coach for his commitment to his play away from the puck. And we all know that’s something Julien admires.

However, Domi most likely stays on the wing and playing him with Drouin works as an early experiment. Both are playmakers, yes, but that may be the way the 2013 12th overall pick finds his scoring touch. Domi has yet to hit double-digit goals since his rookie season where he scored 18. Drouin is a wizard with the puck in transition and Domi has the speed to keep up and match him on the zone entries. It could be a two-way street as well. Domi isn’t a bad playmaker and has seen his skills in the field increase in the last two seasons.

Armia saw mostly third line minutes with the Winnipeg Jets, and could likely play a similar role on the Habs. He’s a big body who can work the boards well and likes to set up shop in the slot using wrist shots for chances.

A style like that could work with a player who gets a lot of rubber on net, (Hudon comes up here again), so it’ll be interesting to see who the coaching staff winds up playing him with.

Tomas Tatar is in the same boat. The 27-year-old is on a mission to prove what happened last season in playoffs was a one-off. He’s a very creative player and could have success with Phillip Danault who would’ve had Max Pacioretty on his left.

Do those assumed duos work? Maybe they’ll need to be shuffled.

The Search for More Offence

I touched on it a little in the previous section, but the Montreal Canadiens are going to need more scoring. Brendan Gallagher had a career year with 31 goals, and it can’t only be him putting pucks in the net. Additionally, the team is losing goals with the departure of Galchenyhuk and Pacioretty.

The new guys again play into this conversation. Domi may be able to score more if he and Drouin work out. I looked at the numbers in a previous post on the possible matchup, and Domi’s drop in production went hand-in-hand with the Martin Hanzal trade out of Arizona. That’s not to say Hanzal was a master playmaker or anything, but he was a distraction on the ice allowing Domi to use his speed and fire quick shots from the slot.

It also could tie into the fact that the 23-year-old was new and the league figured him out. But having two threats spreads the focus and may open up more opportunities.

Tatar has been a consistent 20-goal scorer for some time now, only getting close to 30 once. A lot of his production comes at even strength which will work playing with Danault who contributes well in advancing the puck and supporting it down low. If Tatar can get time and space in the mid-low range of the offensive zone, he’ll find twine.

Lehkonen and Hudon can help in the effort as well. Both finished with 12 and 10 goals respectively which was a disappointing total for the former. However, given their shot total and most importantly the quality of shots taken, there was a good deal of snake venom at work. The Montreal Canadiens will find more scoring throughout their lineup if they can both manage to find the back of the net.

Defender Back and Forth

I briefly mentioned Benn there as a player in the mix to make the team on defence. It also extends to Brett Lernout, David Schlemko, Xavier Ouellet, and Simon Despres.

Some of you may have laughed at the mention of Schlemko. He didn’t have a good season by any means considering a lot of that was spent nursing injuries. But his awareness of the ongoings around him that stung the most. Schlemko is making $2.1 million for the next two years which could make him a project worth working on. Perhaps that will be one of Luke Richardson‘s first assignments as the team’s new defence coach.

Lernout had a better showing with the Montreal Canadiens at the end of the year. He looked a lot less frantic and stable making the small, simple plays instead of trying to do too much and take himself out of position. Spots on the blueline aren’t necessarily open, but who knows what a strong performance at camp can do.

Ouellet will be having the same mentality after being bought out by the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll have a friendly face in Tatar who shares the same redemption-flavoured goal for the year which may help bring out his best. His play away from the puck in combination with his skating ability could have him as a dark horse to make it.

So, you can only imagine where that leaves Despres. He made the choice to return to the NHL after playing in the KHL for a year. Injuries severely derailed his progression as a top defender, but he seems willing to put the work in. Despres is far behind the rest of the group as he doesn’t have a contract and whether or not that changes is on him.

This mini-series will continue with which prospects to look for at training camp. With the narratives mentioned above and possibly more that haven’t been mentioned, it’s exciting to see so much taking place for the Montreal Canadiens. Make your predictions now because, in a few weeks, the roster will be set.