Canadiens Face Big Questions on Penalty Kill After Losing Savard, Armia, and Dvorak

The Montreal Canadiens have improved in many areas this offseason. They brought in defensive reinforcement by acquiring Noah Dobson, and added goalscoring depth when they traded for Zachary Bolduc. However, going into next season, there is a real question mark on what the Canadiens' penalty kill will look like. They lost Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak to free agency and David Savard to retirement, leaving large holes in their shorthanded unit.

The Canadiens were the ninth-ranked penalty-killing team in the NHL last season. In large part, it was due to the play of Jake Evans and Armia on their first penalty kill unit. The duo contributed to six out of the nine shorthanded goals the team scored last season. Dvorak was the team's best faceoff man, winning his draws 55.8 per cent of the time. Savard led the team in blocked shots last season with 180. With Armia, Dvorak, and Savard all off the roster for next season, the Canadiens will need to figure out who will fill those voids.

The most glaring need will be who will fill the hole left by Savard's retirement. He was second on the team in penalty minutes played last season, with just under 240. Alexandre Carrier would be the obvious answer to fill the spot left open by Savard on the first penalty kill unit next to Mike Matheson, but that now leaves the question of who will play alongside Kaiden Guhle on the second unit. The new $9.5 million man, Dobson, is an option, but he was hardly used last season on the penalty kill, playing just 50 minutes shorthanded on one of the worst penalty killing teams in the league might be a risk. The other option available for the Canadiens is whichever defenceman wins the final spot on the team's roster when the season opens up, Arber Xhekaj or Jayden Strubble. Both played sparingly on the penalty kill last season, but out of both of them, Xhekaj would make the most sense, because he is a big physical defenceman who could use his frame to get in the way of shots.

The Canadiens have options for forwards they could use on their penalty kill next season. Josh Anderson was used a lot on the second unit alongside Dvorak last season and could easily be moved to the first unit to play alongside Evans. Anderson is big and physical, and his speed could be a real weapon, as we saw how lethal Evans was on the odd-man rushes during the penalty kill. The second penalty kill unit is where the question lies. Alex Newhook would make the most sense to fill one of the holes. He is solid defensively and has the speed to be a threat scoring-wise. It might be more logical to use him on the wing during the penalty kill, where his speed could be a real advantage. The player who makes sense to fill the centre role is Nick Suzuki. Having him on the second unit will lessen the risk of wearing him out over a long season. His faceoff percentage is just under 52 per cent, and he is one of the better defensive forwards in the league, receiving votes for the Frank J. Selke Trophy this past season.

Training camp is where we will likely see more of what the Canadiens will do to fill the positions lost by Armia, Dvorak, and Savard. It could also depend on who makes the opening day roster, as there will be spots lower down the lineup up for grabs. Players like Owen Beck, Samuel Blais, and David Reinbacher could be names that, if they make the roster, could help chip in on the penalty kill. Their penalty kill should not be a concern, given the depth of players they can rotate in. But with several proven penalty killers now gone, it will be interesting to see how the Canadiens choose to fill the gaps.