2007 NHL Season Preview - Montreal Canadiens

An-Depth Looks at All 30 NHL Franchises

When you talk about the top franchises in NHL history, everyone has to begin with the Montreal Canadiens. But for the past few seasons, this team has really struggled to be significant, especially within the bowels of the "new" NHL. The team did try to make some moves and improve this offseason, but they were really unable to attract some of the bigger names.

They were able to attract a few players, but how better have they become? All in all, the Habs were not too far off the playoff pace last season with 90 points. A couple of games go the other way and we could be talking about them moving into the picture a little more firmly. Have they done enough to make that change?

Montreal Canadiens
2006 Record (W-L-OTL-PTS): 42-34-6-90; 4^th in Northeast Division
2006 Postseason (if applicable): n/a
Coach Name (record w/team): Guy Carbonneau; 42-34-6 (.553)
Key Additions: D Roman Hamrlik (Calgary); C Bryan Smolinski (Vancouver); D Patrice Brisebois (Colorado)
Key Subtractions: D Sheldon Souray (Edmonton); G David Aebischer (Phoenix)

Offense: One of the biggest questions for the Habs is where exactly will the offense come from? Nothing jumps out offensively on this team. There are a lot of times where we say in sports that the stats don't tell the whole story. However, one glance at the Canadiens' stat sheet from last season, one thing is painfully clear: what you see is what you get. The Habs only had one forward with more than 60 points; their second leading scorer was defenseman Sheldon Souray, who is no longer with the team.

Saku Koivu, the leading scorer with 75 points, will be looked upon to carry the majority of the load for the team. However, it's really too much to be asking him to score 30 goals and dish out 60 assists. He does the best with what he has around him, but to expect him to carry the load is definitely unfair because no one in the league could carry any one given team. Where does this team look for the extra offensive punch? It will probably start with some of the veterans, especially someone like Alexei Kovalev.

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