The Montreal Canadiens have the most Stanley Cup wins in history. They're also the most recent Canadian team to accomplish the feat (back in 1993), and showed moxie in taking down the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualification round of the 2020 postseason.
As is tradition, GM Marc Bergevin did quite a bit of tinkering with the roster this offseason. Is there a long playoff run in store for them this spring? Here's everything you need to know about the Canadiens ahead of opening night:
Big question: Has Chef Marc Bergevin finally perfected the recipe?
Bergevin has been the general manager of the Canadiens since 2012. There have been times when Montreal looked like an appetizing contender. Other times, they looked half-baked, missing a few ingredients or occasionally rancid (2017-18 ... woof).
But Bergevin kept cooking, looking for the right mix around his aging main dishes, goalie Carey Price (age 33) and defenseman Shea Weber (35). The Canadiens showed some promise last season, and then rolled over the Penguins in the qualification round before losing to the Flyers in the first playoff round in six games. Bergevin went on a supermarket sweep in the offseason, adding some key new players. On paper, the recipe looks delectable. But how is it going to taste?
Did realignment hurt or help?
The Canadiens could be the second-best team in the (We The) North Division, behind the Toronto Maple Leafs. They would not have been the second-best team in a division with the Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins.
Offseason comings and goings, plus the cap situation
The Canadiens were one of the busiest teams in the offseason. They acquired goalie Jake Allen from the Blues as Price's backup, and signed him to a curious extension. They traded restricted free agent center Max Domi to the Blue Jackets for forward Josh Anderson, and then signed him to a curious extension. They traded for defenseman Joel Edmundson from the Hurricanes, and then signed him to a curious extension.
The biggest coup was signing free-agent winger Tyler Toffoli from Vancouver, a sought-after complementary top-six forward. They also added veteran forward Michael Frolik and the singular "win at all costs" talents of Corey Perry. Montreal is currently $1.62 million over the salary cap according to Cap Friendly, but have a few avenues to get under it before the season starts, including putting Jordan Weal ($1.4 million) on the taxi squad.
Bold prediction
Montreal wins a playoff round. Nothing is guaranteed in the North Division. The Canadiens are part of a pack of teams that could either make the playoffs or slip out of the mix. But if the trajectory of the young players and the overall chemistry of the team can pass the sniff test, we think Montreal not only makes the postseason but wins a No. 2 vs. No. 3 series against whomever the play.
Breakout candidate: Nick Suzuki
The center, acquired from Vegas in the Max Pacioretty trade, showed flashes of potential in his rookie season, with 41 points in 71 games. He showed a bit more in the postseason, with seven points in 10 games, earning more ice time and responsibility. He'll likely have Josh Anderson to his right this season; if it's not Jonathan Drouin on his left, it'll be Toffoli. But he real intrigue is whether he'll be given the power-play time he seemingly deserves, with six of his 13 goals last season coming on the man advantage. The 21-year-old is one to watch.
Biggest strength: Goaltending
Price is a polarizing goaltender. His reputation, fueled by annual praise from his peers in NHLPA polling, outweighs the statistical evaluation of his play: Price is 35th among all goalies in goals saved above average over the last three seasons (21.3), according to Evolving Hockey. But last postseason was a reminder of what Price can do when he's locked in, with a .947 save percentage in their upset of the Penguins.
Meanwhile, Allen has grown into being a solid complementary goaltender after a few seasons as a maligned starter for the Blues. This is as solid a tandem as there is in the North Division.
Biggest weakness: Lack of an offensive star
There's a lot of scoring potential on this roster. The Canadiens' top line of Phillip Danault centering Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Tatar is one of the best trios in the NHL. Drouin, Toffoli and Anderson can pile up points on the wing. Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Suzuki have loads of potential as top-flight scorers. But there isn't a Connor McDavid or an Auston Matthews or an Elias Pettersson or a Mark Scheifele here. In other words, the Canadiens lack what many of their new division rivals have.
Canadiens in NHL Rank
No. 36: Carey Price, G
No. 50: Shea Weber, D
Prospect perspective
Pipeline ranking: 13
Prospects in the top 100: No. 14 Cole Caufield (RW), No. 25 Alexander Romanov (D), No. 61 Kaiden Guhle (D), honorable mention Cayden Primeau (G)
Fantasy facts to know
With Jake Allen now in town as the backup, it's doubtful Carey Price can be a top-5 goaltender based on workload alone, as has happened in the past. He'll need to improve his stats to be in that mix.
This top line is underrated, with Phillip Danault further underrated as an individual fantasy asset. But there needs to be improvement to the Habs' power play for any of these forwards to crack the top-100 fantasy options.
A healthy Shea Weber can reclaim the title of best Canadiens fantasy defenseman with the changes to ESPN standard scoring. But a healthy Weber is no sure thing, and Jeff Petry has proven he can take the reins with little to no drop in production. -- Sean Allen