Montreal Canadiens October Report Card Grades

BRENDAN GALLAGHER. A+. Brendan Gallagher is the heartbeat of the Montreal Canadiens. He constantly does all the little things that are necessary for teams to have success in the National Hockey League. Many of his goals are scored simply because he outworks the opponent. He is an undersized player but it doesn’t stop him from getting to the toughest areas on the ice. <p>Gallagher is off to a great start to the season. He leads the Canadiens in goals with seven and points with 12 in 13 games played. He plays a key role on one of the best two-way lines in hockey, playing against tough competition and wearing them down while also finding the back of the net with regularity.</p> <p>There is simply nothing more that you could ask of Gallagher and that is why he gets an A+.</p>. RW. Montreal Canadiens

LW. Montreal Canadiens. JONATHAN DROUIN. A+. Jonathan Drouin was expected to be a difference maker for the Montreal Canadiens when they acquired him just over two years ago. His first two seasons didn’t go exactly as planned but he has been terrific every night this season. He is battling for pucks and engaging physically far more than he ever did in the past. He was always a skilled player, but the desire to be the best player he can be was always in question. Not anymore. He has been amazing and his stats are identical to Gallagher’s, putting him in a tie for the team lead in goals and points.

A. Joel Armia was acquired from the Winnipeg Jets along with Steve Mason who was a cap dump by the Jets. Armia is proving to be an absolute steal. The Finnish winger was always a smart, defensive winger who did all the right things and was always in the right position. He is still doing that this season but is also scoring plenty of goals. He has six in 12 games and is a big part of the team’s top six forward group right now.. RW. Montreal Canadiens. JOEL ARMIA

Montreal Canadiens. JEFF PETRY. A -. Petry was asked to step into a number one role to start last season when Shea Weber was injured and he proved he could handle the role not just when Weber was hurt, but any time the Habs need him. He is a good skater and smart defender who has no problem jumping up into the rush to create offence. He has played as much as 28:05 in a game this season and is trusted in all situations. The Canadiens would be in a tough spot without Petry on the blue line.. RD

Phillip Danault has become one of the most important players in the Habs lineup over the past few seasons. When he was acquired, most thought he would develop into a solid third line center. For over a year now, he has been in the middle of one of the best lines in hockey. His defensive awareness and abilities is nothing short of elite and his offence continues to grow.. C. Montreal Canadiens. PHILLIP DANAULT. B+

C. Montreal Canadiens. MAX DOMI. B+. When Max Domi was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes, there were no guarantees he could even reach the 20 goal plateau. He had scored just nine in each of the past two seasons. Since then, he scored 28 goals and 72 points in his first season with the Habs and is off to another solid start this year. Domi has four goals and 11 points in 13 games and brings a physical presence that makes his an invaluable part of the Canadiens top six.

Montreal Canadiens. CAREY PRICE. B. Price has started ten games for the Habs this season and has a record of 6-3-1. It has been a bit of a tale of two seasons for the veteran goaltender. In his first five starts, he allowed at least three goals in every game, though some of that can be blamed on the skaters that were supposed to be playing defence. In his last five games, Price has a goals-against average under two and a save percentage of .935.. G

B -. Tatar is having a solid offensive season with 11 points in 13 games thus far. He is on the dynamic two-way line with Danault and Gallagher that is dangerous offensively every night and absolutely locks down the defensive zone. The only downfall has been that Tatar has already taken eight minor penalties and leads the team with 16 penalty minutes. With the Habs struggling to kill penalties, they need Tatar to stay out of the box.. LW. Montreal Canadiens. TOMAS TATAR

Montreal Canadiens. SHEA WEBER. B -. Shea Weber got off to a bit of a slow start for the Habs. He wasn’t his normal dominant defensive self in the first few games and has only two assists in six games. Since then, he has seven points in seven games and has been locking things down in his own zone. Not surprisingly, the Habs are 5-2-0 in those seven games.. RD

C+. Kotkaniemi got off to a quick start this season. After not scoring a single goal on the road all of his rookie season he scored twice in the Canadiens first two games of the year which were both on the road. Since then? Zero goals and one assist in nine games. He isn’t playing brutal, but he isn’t getting results either.. C. Montreal Canadiens. JESPERI KOTKANIEMI

VICTOR METE. C+. Mete has played primarily with Weber this season but started the year playing close to 20 minutes per night for a few games before seeing his minutes reduced to about 15 or 16 minutes per night. The last three games, all wins for the Habs, Mete has been back up to 20 minutes per game. He has lots of tools, but can be overwhelmed physically in his own end at times.. LD. Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens. NICK SUZUKI. C+. Suzuki started the season on the second line. It was a role he earned thanks to a strong training camp. He soon found himself on the fourth line, which was also a role he earned due to his poor performance to start the season. He has played really well with Thompson and Cousins and earned a bump to the third line when Kotkaniemi was out of the lineup.. RW

C. Fleury earned a spot in the opening night lineup thanks to a great training camp. There has been a fairly steep learning curve for the 20 year old defender, but he has been a steady defensive presence on the third pairing after being a healthy scratch for five straight games.. RD. Montreal Canadiens. CALE FLEURY

C -. Thompson is good at winning face-offs and has chipped in five points in 13 games. The fourth line looked solid when he was surrounded by Nick Suzuki and Nick Cousins. Thompson has one of the worst Corsi ratings of any regular skaters in the league and is a regular member of one of the worst penalty killing units in the league.. C. Montreal Canadiens. NATE THOMPSON

C -. Lehkonen is a trusted defensive presence on the ice, but struggles to score with any consistency no matter how many chances he gets to put the puck in the net. He started this season with four points in five games but has zero in his last eight. He’s also a regular member of the awful penalty killing unit.. LW / RW. Montreal Canadiens. ARTTURI LEHKONEN

D. Ben Chiarot was signed to a three year deal to play on the second pairing with Jeff Petry. He was very disappointing in that role to start the year. His skating is not great and he didn’t find chemistry right away on a fast-paced Habs team. He looks better lately, but still not like a legit top four defender.. LD. Montreal Canadiens. BEN CHIAROT

Montreal Canadiens. BRETT KULAK. D. Kulak was a pleasant surprise last season but he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year. On a team with a weak group of left defenders, Kulak has been a healthy scratch five times just after signing a three year contract extension.. LD

G. Montreal Canadiens. KEITH KINKAID. D. Kinkaid was brought in on a one year deal to give Price more of a break than he got last year. After one month, Kinkaid is 1-1-1 with a goals against average of 4.36 and a save percentage of .879. Those are Antti Niemi numbers. He needs to do better than Antti Niemi.

CHRISTIAN FOLIN. D. Christian Folin lost his third pairing job to Cale Fleury before the season even began. When given a chance to win it back, he did not play well and soon saw Fleury back on the ice in his place. With Noah Juulsen healthy and playing well for the Laval Rocket, Folin could be in the minors soon.. RD. Montreal Canadiens

D. Mike Reilly was re-signed to a two year contract extension worth $1.5 million. We questioned it at the time and haven’t really changed our tune after seeing him play five games this season. On a weak left defence, he is usually the odd man out.. LD. Montreal Canadiens. MIKE REILLY

F. Byron has been so good and so consistent for the Canadiens ever since they picked him up on waivers that he was signed to a five year contract extension last year. In the first year of the deal, it looks like a poor contract. He has no goals and two assists in 13 games and is a big part of the putrid penalty killing unit.. LW. Montreal Canadiens. PAUL BYRON

RW. Montreal Canadiens. JORDAN WEAL. F. Jordan Weal was given a great opportunity to start the year. He was on the second line for a while with Max Domi, but couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity. He quickly worked his way down the lineup to the point where he has been healthy scratched four times already. He has three points in nine games.