Montreal Canadiens: Has the defense improved since last season?

The Montreal Canadiens have completely overhauled their left defense in the past few years. Is it better heading into next season than it was last year?

There has been some chatter lately about the Montreal Canadiens defense core, particularly the left side and if it is good enough to keep the Canadiens afloat through 82 games and the playoffs.

When looking at the Canadiens blue line one thing stands out immediately- the right handed defensemen. With Shea Weber and Jeff Petry eating up about 22-24 minutes a game each as your 1-2 punch night in and night out, you stand a chance in most games.

That’s evident when looking at the impact Weber had on the team when he returned from injury in November of 2018. He absolutely flipped this team upside down for the better, going from the bottom of the league in CF% and goals against to one of the best possession drivers in he league.

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The next thing that stands out is potential. Players like Victor Mete, Noah Juulsen as well as Brett Kulak have a chance to solidify their roles on the team if they can take the necessary steps forward in becoming top 4 caliber players.

Brett Kulak has already shown the ability to hold his own while in a top-4 role. In 2018-19, he played about half of his games on the third pairing alongside Jordie Benn, and the other half on the second pairing alongside Jeff Petry. He managed to record a very solid 56.3 CF% and a +2.2 CF% relative to his teammates, meaning the Montreal Canadiens controlled the majority of scoring chances for and limited chances against while he was on the ice. The challenge will be to repeat, or build upon that in 2019-20.

Victor Mete is going into his third season in the NHL and I have a feeling this is the year he takes that next step in becoming a true top-4 defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens and they could really benefit from that happening. He is such a smooth skater, an asset that is becoming more important in today’s NHL. He put up 13 points in 71 games during the 2018-19 campaign playing the majority of his minutes alongside Shea Weber, but I would expect that number to reach the high 20’s this upcoming year.

He spent time in the off-season working on his shot to help improve what has become quite the joke around the NHL, his goal scoring ability or lack thereof. He would also benefit from putting on some weight to help him in the corners and in front of the net, my guess is that was another area of focus for the young man coming into this season.

Mete and Weber compliment each other so well because what Mete lacks in size, Weber more than makes up for and what Weber lacks in mobility and puck moving, Mete makes up for. I expect these two to continue playing together for the foreseeable future.

After battling a very serious eye injury which held Noah Juulsen out of the lineup for most of the 2018-19 campaign, it is tough to gauge his readiness. Will he make the team out of camp? Will he need a short stint in Laval with Coach Bouchard like Mete had to begin last season? It’s tough to say, but when he does ultimately make the roster full time, we should be excited for what he can bring, which is a calm presence in his own end and a guy who moves the puck efficiently and can even chip in on offense from time to time.

He likely lines up on the 3rd wave, paired with either Brett Kulak or Ben Chiarot, as well as earning some quality minutes on the second PK unit.

Lastly, Ben Chiarot will have a chance to prove his worth to the Canadiens. Claude Julien mentioned the possibility of playing alongside Jeff Petry and on paper that looks like a pairing with the potential to be very effective. If you don’t know much about Chiarot, he is a defensive defenseman with good skating ability, nothing in his offensive game will wow you and I would consider his puck moving ability to be average.

Putting him with Petry makes sense because Petry can handle most of the puck moving and Chiarot can be that stay at home defensemen who can cover for Petry when he makes the inevitable mistakes that come with moving the puck as often as he does. Chiarot also adds a physical element that was lost in the off-season with Andrew Shaw and Jordie Benn’s departure. We have a young team and the ability to stick up for teammates is one that is necessary.

The Montreal Canadiens had the 13th least goals against in the league last season which would be considered a little above average. The addition of Chiarot and loss of Benn could be seen as an upgrade depending on how you view each defenseman. Some will look at last season, a season in which Benn played some fantastic hockey, to show that he is better than Chiarot. I would counter with this: last season was the best season in Benn’s entire career and it isn’t close, could that be attributed to the system we implemented with Richardson taking over as the coach of the defense? It surely appears that way.

Look how well Folin played in the very same system after barely holding an NHL job prior. He also is seen as a defensive defenseman whose puck moving wouldn’t be considered a strength by any stretch of the imagination. I think Chiarot will fit nicely and have one of his best seasons to date.

With that I conclude, the Montreal Canadiens defense seems to be hanging on the potential that players like Mete, Kulak and Juulsen continue to develop, Vets like Weber and Petry continue to have strong impacts, newcomer in Chiarot find a niche in the lineup and plays well, and lastly, Brett Kulak needs to continue to build on to what he did last season.