Montreal Canadiens: 3 Habs Poised For Breakout Seasons
Jul 5, 2021; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Brendan Gallagher Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
#1 – Brendan Gallagher
It might be weird to think that one of the most popular players that just signed a big contract could be a candidate for a big break out. But if there is anyone that is most impacted with this offseason, its Brendan Gallagher.
For the past couple of years, Gallagher has been tightly tied to linemates Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar. Danault asked for a big pay-day, and found it in Los Angeles to the tune of $5.5 million per year for 6 years. The writing was on the wall for Tomas Tatar, as he was scratched for most of the playoff run, including when Montreal struggled offensively in the Finals against Tampa Bay. The truth is that Tatar has always struggled to produce in the playoffs (6 goals and 12 points in 40 playoff games); good thing that he went to New Jersey, a team that shouldn’t threaten for the playoffs for a little while now.
When the line of Gallagher – Danault – Tatar was first put together, it was a line that dominated the game possession wise. They were up there with the Perfection Line in Boston as one of the best lines in the league in that regard. When that line was on the ice, the puck was on one of their sticks and in the offensive zone. And as the de facto top line on the Canadiens, they came up against the opponent’s best lines, and shut them down by dominating the puck.
But, the line started to make a slow shift away from possession hockey and towards a shutdown role. The line always shut down the opponent’s top lines, but also scored a ton of points while doing it. But Danault became the only centre that Montreal had that could consistently win faceoffs, and so this line got a lot more starts in the defensive zone.
And it shows up in the numbers. Gallagher posted two straight 30 goal seasons before his goal totals dipped to 22 in 2019-20 and 14 in 2020-21. Tatar followed up his two best seasons with a weak 10 goal effort this year. Danault was never an offensive player, but this last season was his worst offensively since his rookie year, with just 5 goals and 24 points.
This dip from all three players seemed like it was from a change in philosophy. Instead of stopping the opponent’s best lines by being fantastic offensively, this line began to just take an defensive role. And that does not exactly play into Gallagher’s offensive strengths.
Gallagher thrives on chaos in the offensive zone, perhaps now more than ever. Thanks to multiple hand and wrist injuries in the recent past, his shot is not as formidable as it once was, and he thrives when the play breaks down and the puck ends up in a scrum at the front of the net. That chaos is really formed by extended time in the offensive zone, wearing out the defenders and breaking down their defensive structures. Something that this line used to do fantastically, but got away from in recent years.
Now, it still is a bit of a mystery of who will play with who this year. The first line might be the only one set with Caufield – Suzuki – Toffoli playing together in the playoffs, but there are still some thinking that this line could be broken up. Montreal has a plentiful amount of quality wingers and only so many spots, but the truth is that unless Gallagher finds himself on a line with Jake Evans, he will be playing with a much more offensive center and will be given many more offensive looks this year.
The fear after signing a big contract, that the player will cash out and not play as well, but it is hard to see that happening to a heat-and-soul guy like Gallagher. While this contract will end while he is 35, and it might not be worth the $6.5 million, but look to Gallagher to have a bounce back offensively this year.
Sep 27, 2021; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens Jonathan Drouin. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
#2 – Jonathan Drouin
Jonathan Drouin has not played a full season in 2 years. 2019-20 was brutally cut short by a wrist injury, and he took a leave of absence from the time this past year. It was just recently that Drouin came out with a press conference that he suffered from anxiety and insomnia and that he took the time to address his mental health issues and will come back to the Canadiens better than ever.
The Quebec born Drouin would always have an inordinate amount of pressure in the Montreal market, but he was also traded to Montreal for 9th overall pick and bluechip defensive prospect Mikhail Sergachev. It didn’t help to see Sergachev blossom on Tampa’s deep blueline and become a Stanley Cup champion, as Drouin struggled to find his footing in Montreal.
Its something that cannot really be compared. Each team has their own staff of player development, and Tampa has had an incredibly deep defensive corps that they could afford to bring Sergachev up to the big leagues at his own pace, a luxury that one might not be sure the Montreal Canadiens had. Just look at the recent track record of disappointing draft picks to be brought up too quickly (I’m looking at you Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Victor Mete).
The truth is, Montreal has kind of gotten the player as advertised. In the QMJHL as a member of the Halifax Mooseheads, Drouin put up two straight 100+ point seasons. But in the NHL, he has never been able to match those feats. Arguably, his best year came as a member of the Lightning, where he scored 21 goals and 53 points in 73 games in 2016-17, but he matched that point total with the Canadiens in 2018-19 while scoring 3 less goals.
As a member of the Canadiens, Drouin has been very good at putting up assists, scoring 35 and 33 assists in his two full years in Montreal. He has the skill and vision to make a difference on the ice, and that is the frustrating part. There are flashes of something that is really special, but for one reason or another, it has never worked full time.
In the month of October of 2019, Drouin scored 12 points in 13 games, and 15 points in 19 games before going down for the aforementioned wrist injury. The injury set him out until February, where he didn’t register a point in 8 games. He did have a bit of a bounce back in the playoffs with 1 goal and 7 points in 10 games. This year Drouin struggled to find the back of the net himself, but got 21 assists in 44 games.
But, the important thing to remember is that he is coming back a new man. Not only did Drouin find help for his mental health issues, but he made the incredibly brave action of telling the media exactly what was going on in his personal life, and looks better than ever for it. Early returns with new linemates Josh Anderson and Christian Dvorak look good, and while that is an extremely small sample size, and odds are that that line won’t stay together for the whole season, it is a very promising sign for what could be a really good season for Jonathan Drouin.
Number 3: Chris Wideman
The preseason is always dominated by conversations of who will make the team. The Montreal Canadiens have just gone to the Stanley Cup Final, and there were not too many spots up for grabs. If the winger corps stay healthy, there is no room outside of the established NHL regulars. There was only really 1 centre spot, with Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans, and newly acquired Christian Dvorak have their spots, which leaves just one left for new centres Cedric Paquette, Matthieu Perrault and 1st round pick in 2017 Ryan Poehling. The goalies are set in stone with Carey Price and Jake Allen.
Then there’s the defence.
The top 4 members of Montreal’s defence are Jeff Petry, Joel Edmundson, Ben Chiarot and David Savard. The problem is that 3 out of the 4 names above are defensive and rather immobile defensemen. Jeff Petry is going to carry the puck on whatever pairing he is on, most likely with Joel Edmundson who he spent most of last year with. But that leaves a second pairing of Ben Chiarot and David Savard.
Now, I know there are some people that shuddered with that last sentence. Both Chiarot and Savard are big, physical guys who do well in their own zone, but largely cannot carry the puck out of the zone or make a good outlet pass to save their lives. That is a pair that can be hemmed in their own zone often. But who could step up? The youngster Romanov, who sat out most of the last playoff run? Its the same story for the older, more reliable Brett Kulak? Are either of those guys ready for top 4 minutes?
Now, that is not to say that Chris Wideman is a top 4 defenseman, far from it. Wideman has been in the NHL since 2015, but lost his place in 2019 and moved over to the KHL. In the NHL, Wideman has averaged around 13:00 minutes on ice a game, which puts him firmly in around the bottom pairing. But then he went to the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo.
You cannot compare the KHL and the NHL directly. They are so different in ice size, skill level, anything. But, in either league, quality will present itself. In 59 games, Wideman scored 9 goals and 41 points for the most points by a defenseman in the KHL in 2020-21. Say what you will about the KHL, but that is not nothing.
Add on top of that, there is pressure for Wideman to perform. There are many names that are knocking on the door. The Canadiens just signed Sami Niku, who will be at least a very good AHL defender in Laval if that is where he ends up. Matthias Norlinder may not be ready for an NHL job, but he is close, and is a similarly offensively minded defenseman. A little bit further off is Kaiden Guhle. And then there is the NHL proven Brett Kulak. Wideman cannot sit back on his heels and not perform, or he will lose his spot.
It has been proven time and again that internal competition makes players better, and there is nowhere on the team where there is more internal competition than the bottom of the defensive corps. Chris Wideman fills a hole that Montreal desperately needs on the blueline, and that is an offensive defenseman. Erik Gustafsson tried to fill that role in the playoffs last season, but ultimately couldn’t be trusted in any role other than powerplay specialist.
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