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For Better or For Worse: Is the 2019-2020 Montreal Canadiens Roster Better than Last Year’s?

By Curt MacLellan

MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 2: Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens defends the goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 2, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 2: Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens defends the goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL game at the Bell Centre on April 2, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Montreal Canadiens made a few tweaks to the lineup over the summer. Now that they are back on the ice, is this version of the Habs better than the one we saw last season?

With the 2019 training camp underway, Montreal Canadiens fans have a lot to be excited about. First, the players are healthy. Shea Weber, Carey Price and company, recently, at the team’s annual golf tournament, expressed their excitement to get the season started, after a summer of focused training.

Second, several of the team’s prominent players had career years last season: notably forwards Max Domi, Tomas Tatar and Philip Danault, in points, and Brendan Gallagher in goals. On defence, Jeff Petry, Brett Kulak, and Victor Mete all marked their most productive seasons.

Third, general manager, Marc Bergevin, made several off season moves to bolster the roster and make it a playoff team: adding Nick Cousins up front, Ben Chiarot on defence, and Keith Kinkaid in net, amongst a few other minor moves.

Meanwhile, Andrew Shaw and Jordie Benn moved out of the fold (both of whom also had career seasons last year): the former was traded to Chicago for draft picks, and the latter signed with Vancouver. Finally, a new influx of young talent is primed to challenge for roster spots, especially Ryan Poehling, Nick Suzuki, and Noah Juulsen. With these four points taken into consideration, is the 2019-2020 version of the the Montreal Canadiens really better than last year’s?

The Montreal Canadiens missed the playoffs by a paltry two points last season. From the outset of the season they were without team captain Shea Weber, for a prolonged period of time- a knee surgery that occurred in July, forcing him out until his early return in late November. Moreover, all universe goalie Carey Price experienced a poor start, posting a 5-4-3 record with a 3 .89 GAA and .892 SV%, while dealing with issues which he explicitly declared were “all upstairs.”

However, the team managed to stay afloat. The team itself congealed going down the final stretch and showed its capability and its character. If not for an overused and exhausted Carey Price due to the incompetence at the back up position and an atrocious power play, the team would have certainly made the playoffs. But how far exactly would they have gone?

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