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Montreal Canadiens: Three Key Habs Storylines As 2023-24 Season Begins

By Ken MacMillan

Sep 30, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) plays the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) plays the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Montreal Canadiens finally kick off their 2023-24 season tonight when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Expectations for the Canadiens season are relatively low, as they struggled each of the past two years and look to continue their rebuild. They are in a difficult division as the Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers are hoping for a Stanley Cup run while the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres look ready to enter playoff contention as well.

The Canadiens made some changes to their lineup, but it may not be enough to launch them into playoff contention quite yet.

Their key additions to the lineup this season include Alex Newhook and Tanner Pearson. The biggest subtractions over the summer were Joel Edmundson who was traded to the Washington Capitals, Mike Hoffman was traded to the San Jose Sharks, Rem Pitlick got traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jonathan Drouin and Denis Gurianov left as free agents.

There are likely no rookies to crack the lineup to begin the season, but that isn’t surprising after so many broke through a year ago. We could still see players like Emil Heineman, Joshua Roy, Mattias Norlinder or Logan Mailloux could get long looks later in the season.

Until then, the lineup will probably look like this to begin the season tonight:

Caufield – Suzuki – Anderson

Slafkovsky – Dach – Newhook

Pearson – Monahan – Gallagher

Harvey-Pinard – Evans – Ylonen

Matheson – Savard

Guhle – Kovacevic

Harris – Xhekaj

Allen

Aside from the third line and top defense pairing, that is a very young looking team, with plenty of potential for the future. It should be exciting to watch them grow, whether they win a lot of games or not right away.

With a new season upon us, there are some key storylines to follow with the Montreal Canadiens this season. Let’s take a look at the top three.

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