The Montreal Canadiens - Team Profile

The 2007-2008 iteration of the Montreal Canadiens was supposed to be a team that would challenge for a playoff spot. It didn't take too long for the prognosticators realized they had set the bar too low. The Habs, led by a rejuvenated Alexei Kovalev, came out of the chute eager to erase the failures of the past season.

Coach, and former Canadien player, Guy Carbonneau, a multiple Selke trophy winner for his outstanding defensive abilities in his playing days, ironically developed a system for his team that focused on offense first. This philosophy allowed his skilled players to use their natural creativity. As a result, their powerplay, again quarterbacked by Kovalev, finished first in the league in efficiency. Kovalev led the league in powerplay points.

The biggest news out of Habs camp this season wasn't the new system, but rather that goaltender Carey Price, billed as the netminder of the future, was going to stick with the big club, backing up Cristobal Huet while being groomed to eventually take over that role himself. Well, "eventually" came a lot sooner than expected. Despite the fact that he was inconsistent early in the season, and even got sent down to the minors to get his game back in order, Price received a huge vote of confidence at the trade deadline from team general manager, Bob Gainey.

Jaws dropped throughout the hockey world when the Canadiens announced they had sent their number one goalie, Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a second round draft pick. The move made Carey Price, at 20 years of age, the Canadiens' defacto number one tender. Many claimed that the move put too much pressure on the young goalie, especially in a hockey-mad city like Montreal, but Price proved them all wrong. He was spectacular down the stretch, helping the Canadiens to first overall in the Eastern Conference standings.