Montreal Canadiens Looking to Win Weakened Atlantic Division in 2020-21

The Montreal Canadiens are looking to compete, and are doing it at the right time in their division.

The Montreal Canadiens last won the Atlantic Division in 2017. Since then, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning have taken over and dominated the division standings. For three consecutive seasons the top two seeds in the Atlantic Division went to the Lightning and Bruins.

The Canadiens are looking to change that next season.

The biggest component of the Habs having any success in the past decade and into next season will be their goaltender Carey Price. He was won Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy’s in the past, and has carried a flawed team to division crowns in the regular season.

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The Habs will be looking to compete in the Atlantic Division again next season after falling 29 points shy of the Bruins this year and finishing 32 points back of the Lightning in the division “race” last year.

So, how do they plan on actually competing in a division that has been so far out of their reach for three years?

Well, it will take a few steps forward from the Habs for sure, but also a couple of steps back from the other teams.

The Canadiens are looking to take those steps forward by adding Jake Allen in goal. Instead of Carey Price needing to lead the league in games and minutes and shots faced and saves made, he can take a little breather on a more consistent basis. Allen played 24 games for the St. Louis Blues last season and had a 12-6-3 record with a 2.15 GAA and a .927 SV%.

If he can repeat those numbers while playing slightly more often for the Canadiens, it will allow Price to be rested throughout the season and only start about 50 games. We saw how good Price can be if rested when he led the NHL in GAA during the postseason thanks to his incredible performances against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers.

The Canadiens also added Joel Edmundson to help limit chances against the Habs and they brought in Josh Anderson via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets. This will make them tougher to play against, but nothing makes the Canadiens more difficult to play against than a rested Carey Price.

Also, the Habs still appear to be trying to land another goal scorer. If they can lure Mike Hoffman or Evgeni Dadonov to town, the team will have their weapon for the power play that they desperately need.

Also, 2020-21 is definitely the time to strike in the Atlantic Division. The best teams are taking steps back and the younger teams are not quite ready to compete just yet.

The Tampa Bay Lightning still need to shed about $10 million in salary but can’t find anyone to take Tyler Johnson. Are they going to lose Alex Killorn? Will someone swoop in with an offer sheet and force the Lightning to move out Anthony Cirelli or Mikhail Sergachev? It’s hard to say what will happen there, but they are most definitely subtracting.

The Bruins are doing the same. they already lost Torey Krug and don’t know if they will get Zdeno Chara back. They did bring in Craig Smith on a nice contract up front, but will their aging core be able to handle the rigours of a condensed schedule next season? And who exactly is playing left defence?

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to strip away their depth so they can overpay all their good players. Their third line is now, Alex Kerfoor at centre (even though he should be a winger) with Wayne Simmonds and Pierre Engvall on the wings?? Maybe they find a way to get ilya Mikheyev under contract and he ends up on the third line? There is just no depth behind two great lines.

The Florida Panthers finished just ahead of the Habs but they are going to lose Mike Hoffman, Evgeni Dadonov and Erik Haula to free agency. I guess Noel Acciari is a second line centre now?

The Buffalo Sabres didn’t finish far behind the Habs in the standings last season, but they haven’t added much to a flawed lineup. Their goaltending is suspect and their big additions up front are a 35 year old Eric Staal and Cody Eakin who scored five goals last season.

The Ottawa Senators have an incredible group of prospects. Not many teams around hockey can boast a better group of up and comers than the Habs, but Ottawa is certainly one of the few that can. The problem is, they have one of the worst actual NHL rosters in the league at the moment. That’ll change soon, but it won’t be in 2020-21.

The Detroit Red Wings are a hot mess that had 39 points in 71 games last season. They are going to take several years to turn that sinking ship around.

So, the four teams that finished ahead of the Canadiens in the Atlantic Division last season look to be taking a step back. The Bruins and Lightning will still have great teams, but they won’t be as unstoppable as they have been recently.

The teams behind the Habs are starting to slowly turn things around, but don’t expect a big jump forward from the Sabres, Red Wings or Senators yet.

The Canadiens should be taking a step forward, and it will put them in contention for a division title in 2020-21.