Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings #7: Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens are coming off what appeared to be an extremely successful season, as they made it to the second round of the NHL playoffs before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, in reality, they were forced to rely on Carey Price. Price was the best NHL goalie last season and had one of the best seasons that a goaltender has ever had.
Judging by their off-season moves, perhaps the Canadiens realized this. They re-signed Alex Galchenyuk to a very reasonable deal. They also re-upped underrated wing Brandon Gallagher. That ensures that their top six forwards are going to continue to be very good. Montreal lost out on the better forwards so they offered a one-year deal to talented wing Alexander Semin.
Semin is coming off arguably the roughest season of his career. That said, he is still very talented and he tends to dominate possession. Considering Montreal struggled mightily as far as possession last season, Semin could be a huge steal for the Canadiens.
All of Montreal’s moves will mean nothing if head coach Michel Therrien can’t adjust his system to better fit the Habs. If Montreal still has trouble with puck possession this season, Therrien could be the problem. It’s worth noting that even when he coached Crosby and Malkin with the Pens, the Penguins still had horrible possession numbers. Therrien must do a better job this season because if Price regresses even a little bit, that could have dire consequences for the Habs. I’m not saying Price will regress, but history is not on his side.
Next: #6