A Winning Habit
Fansided

Montreal Canadiens: Predicting Habs Opening Night Lineup

By Ken MacMillan

Oct 12, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield (22) and forward Nick Suzuki (14) during the second period of the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 12, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield (22) and forward Nick Suzuki (14) during the second period of the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

The Montreal Canadiens have not had the busiest offseason of all the NHL teams, but they have shuffled around a few things in the organization.

They traded Joel Edmundson for draft picks, subtracting a veteran defenseman off the roster. They also traded the 31st and 37th overall draft picks in the 2023 NHL Draft for Alex Newhook who will find a role among a busy forward group. The team also re-signed Sean Monahan shortly before he hit the open market.

Free agent signings have been few and far between for the Canadiens. They have added some organizational depth with the signings of Lias Andersson, Phillip Maillet and Brady Keeper, but have not added anyone that is likely to play regularly at the NHL level in 2023-24.

The team has also allowed a few veteran players like Jonathan Drouin and Chris Tierney leave as unrestricted free agents and they chose not to offer Denis Gurianov a qualifying offer so he is currently a free agent as well. None of those three were huge parts of the team, but for every veteran that leaves the team a roster spot opens up for a younger player to step into that role.

We are still a ways away from opening night on the 2023-24 season, one that promises to be (much?) better than the past two years. Perhaps it is a little early to start looking ahead, as things can certainly change, and Newhook hasn’t even signed with the team yet, but with the roster moves that have happened, what does the lineup look like right now?

Let’s look ahead to see how the roster has been shaped and what the Canadiens may look like when next season finally arrives on October 11th in Toronto as they face the Maple Leafs.

Here is our best guess as to what the lines and defense pairings will be on opening night.

Home/Habs News