Montreal Canadiens: Updated Roster and Lines After Free Agent Frenzy

Well, free agent frenzy truly lived up to its name this year so far, and not only for the Montreal Canadiens.

The Edmonton Oilers steered into the defensive skid by resigning defensive nightmare and offensive dream Tyson Barrie, signing straight-up nightmare Cody Ceci and re-signing a dinosaur in 39-year-old Mike Smith for two(!) more years in net; the Toronto Maple Leafs once again find themselves without a true #1 goalie after signing Petr Mrazek and took a risk in signing Josh Ho-sang to a Professional Try-out; Dougie Hamilton finds himself banished to the New Jersey Devils (remember the last time a big named d-man went to N.J.?) and L.A. badly overpaid for Phillip Danault, but at least he meshes well with their philosophy of not scoring goals very often.

It wasn’t a quiet day for Montreal, and the roster for Les Habitants looks quite different than it did at 11:59 a.m. this morning. The scoring is better, the forward depth is better, the defensive depth is better, and the goaltending stayed the same. I think that Bergevin’s work is not yet done. He has a penchant for the big, earthshaking offseason trade, and there can be some things shored up on the roster. Let’s look at what the Canadiens have to work with as of today.

Line 2

Brendan Gallagher – Mike Hoffman – Josh Anderson

With Phillip Danault officially out the door to sunny L.A. and Tomas Tatar officially a free agent and not expected to return, Brendan Gallagher will be looking at getting some new linemates this year. Everyone knows what Gallagher will bring to the table. He is going to play every shift like the Cup depends on it. The hope is that Gallagher will be able to return to his 30-goal form when he doesn’t have to worry about being with Danault and shutting down the opponents’ best forwards.

And shutting down the opponent is not in the repertoire of newly acquired Mike Hoffman. The first of our encounters of new signees, Hoffman signed in Montreal after a year in St. Louis for 3 years at $4.5 million. Hoffman is not good in his own end and is questionable at 5-on-5 in general, but is great on the powerplay, a position that Montreal has been notably weak in in the past. He steadily puts in over 20 goals and over 55 points, and hey, sometimes you need a guy that can just put the puck in the net. Hoffman would be best put into the centre, as Montreal could be thin up the middle.

It was an up-and-down year for Josh Anderson last year. Coming in hot with a two-goal performance in his first game as a Canadien, and leaving the regular season cold with 11 straight pointless games. If Anderson could play as well as he can, he is well worth his contract and deserves a spot in the top six.  He scored 27 goals in a year in Columbus, and if he can find some consistency, he can be an absolute beast.

Line 3

Joel Armia – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Jonathan Drouin/Artturi Lehkonen

This is a line of misfits, and it could very easily change. There is not even a guarantee that two of these players will be on the team.

Joel Armia just signed an extension before he became an unrestricted free agent for $3.4 million for 4 years. He spent most of the last year on the fourth line, but it is really hard to justify paying that much money for someone on the fourth line. He is also a fantastic penalty killer, and a player who can inject energy into the game if the Canadiens are playing flat. He is unfortunately not the best at putting points on the board, never scoring more than 15 goals in a season.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a restricted free agent that has been offered a contract, and it is hard to see Bergevin letting Kotkaniemi go, as he went out on a limb picking Kotkaniemi right before Ottawa star Brady Tkachuk. Kotkaniemi had his best season as a rookie, and has struggled to find his footing in the NHL. He has had some success in the Finnish line, between countrymen Armia and Lehkonen, but the creative mind of Jonathan Drouin might be key to unlocking Kotkaniemi’s offensive capabilities.

Jonathan Drouin missed much of last year due to personal reasons, but news broke that he will be returning to Montreal for training camp. This is fantastic news for Drouin as a person and the team as a whole. I am a bit higher on Drouin than I know some people are, and the Canadiens are a better team with him on it. He can play well and has wonderful creativity, vision, and hockey I.Q. If he can stretch out his streak of good play to a full season, he could surprise a lot of people. He has played well in the NHL, and is capable of playing well in the NHL. Heck, he has played well in Montreal, remember before his wrist injury? If expectations are lowered and Drouin can play to his potential, he can surprise.

Artturi Lehkonen is a restricted free agent but has been extended a qualifying offer that will probably be signed. Lehkonen doesn’t strike as the player that would demand a high payday on the open market. He is a smart, reliable player who plays well defensively, but doesn’t produce much, again, in the offensive end. He is a shoot first, do anything else second, which could be a detriment.

Line 4

Paul Byron – Jake Evans – Cedric Paquette

Jake Evans has cemented his place on the team as a fantastic shutdown centre. Like most Montreal bottom sixers, there is not a lot of offensive upside but in Evans’ case he is fantastic defensively. This is only his second season, and at only 25 years old, he still has plenty of time to grow and mature as a player.

Paul Byron is paid the same as Armia, but someone has to be on the fourth line, and unfortunately the honour falls to him.  Byron is a dedicated penalty killer, team leader, and one of the fastest players in the league. Unfortunately, his 20-goal seasons are behind him, but there are intangibles that Byron has that make him valuable to the team. Expect him to wear the ‘A’ again.

The newcomer Cedric Paquette fills in the last spot for the fourth line. He signed as a free agent for just $950,000. It is hard to be upset at that price, and it is another Quebecer for the Quebec team. He doesn’t score much, topping out at 13 goals in 2018-19 in Tampa. He is a decent depth option and, once again, you cannot argue against that price.

Pairing 1

Jeff Petry – Joel Edmundson

It is great luck that Montreal has two #1 defenders on the back end. With Shea Weber out for the year, possibly the rest of his career, the onus now falls upon Jeff Petry. He is the most offensive of Montreal’s d-men and he will need to produce on the back end.

Joel Edmundson would naturally be his partner, as they spent most of last season together, so that probably wouldn’t change as Edmundson is the perfect defensive ying to Petry’s offensive yang.

Pairing 2

Ben Chiarot – David Savard

How sweet is it to have a Savard back in a Montreal Canadiens’ uniform? Sure, they are not related and have very little in common with each other. But for old times sake, why not? And he brings Stanley Cup experience as well, having just won with Tampa over Montreal.

Savard was signed to a 4 year $3.5 million contract this offseason, which is a pretty good price for a stay-at-home defenceman who will play top 4 minutes. He will not play offensively, but will be safe enough in his own zone, if a little slow. If sheltered and played right, he can be a stabilizing force on the backend, if unexciting.

Ben Chiarot is used to playing with a slower, defensive-minded defenceman and might be the best player to play alongside Savard. If Romanov is ready, he could also play alongside Savard, and give the duo a different dynamic, but the question is if Romanov is ready for such a big role.

Pairing 3

Alexander Romanov – Mattias Norlinder/Chris Wideman

This third pairing is a bit of a toss-up, and could probably use some shoring up if the Canadiens are gearing up for another deep playoff run. Ducharme cannot keep running the top four into the ground like he did last year. Romanov will be better this year with a full season of NHL play under his belt and should be a reliable option on the third pairing or even a second pairing if he meshes well with Savard.

The other hole is a bit harder to fill. Montreal just signed defenceman Chris Wideman, who has been a fringe NHL player in the past, but had a fantastic year in the KHL last year, scoring nine goals and 41 points in 59 games. He is an offensive defenceman, but could work well in a Erik Gustafsson type role.

Mattias Norlinder is a dark horse to make the Habs this season, and most likely will find himself on the outside looking in, but he might be worth a look in a Canadiens uniform. He sees the game well and has been playing in the SHL. He could be worth a call up to see what he can do. Another player that can be put in this position is Josh Brook.

Free agency has just started, and Bergevin probably still has some moved in mind before next season starts, so more lineup changes could be expected.