Training camp can’t come any faster, but the Montreal Canadiens have officially announced when and where their preseason games will take place.
It’s going to be a long offseason, especially if the Montreal Canadiens flex their muscles on the trade and free agent markets.
Training camp will begin sometime in September where a number of young players and prospects will get the opportunity to prove themselves followed by the preseason and thanks to the recent news release, Habs fans know more about it.
The Montreal Canadiens will play seven preseason games heading into the 2019-20 regular season. Four of those games are going to be played at the always electric Bell Centre while the Habs will have a Kraft Hockeyville game in Renous, New Brunswick. The small town won the opportunity to have a preseason game hosted there as well as $25,000 in arena upgrades back in March.
As far as the full schedule goes, it breaks down as such:
- Monday, September 16th (Home) vs. New Jersey Devils @ 7:00 PM
- Wednesday, September 18th (Away) vs. Florida Panthers @ 7:OO PM
- Thursday, September 19th (Home) vs. Florida Panthers @ 7:00 PM
- Saturday, September 21st (Away) vs. Ottawa Senators @ 7:30 PM
- Monday, September 23rd (Home) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @ 7:00 PM
- Wednesday, September 25th (Away) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs @ 7:00 PM
- Saturday, September 28th (Home) vs. Ottawa Senators @ 7:00 PM
As it usually is, the final two games against the Leafs and Sens will be the most interesting. By that time Claude Julien will have an idea of what his final roster for the season will look like, but it also may be opportunities for players on the brink to have one last shot to make the cut.
Perhaps that falls on Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki who look like they could seriously contend for a roster spot. Looking back to last year, Jesperi Kotkaniemi proved he made the team by the second last game of the preseason, and it’ll be interesting to see if either Poehling or Suzuki can do the same thing.
Another aspect of the preseason to look out for is the power play. The man advantage in Montreal was underwhelming, and although it was more to do with the personnel on either unit, perhaps Kirk Muller has some other strategy to put to use during those initial games.
There is a lot to be done with the Montreal Canadiens between now and those preseason games. Several names could be added or eliminated between then and September will be the time to see what they can initially do. And remember, the preseason does matter. If you feel otherwise, think back to the Habs preseason ahead of the 2017-18 season.