Welcome to Puck Drop Preview 2014-15, where our hockey department gives you a detailed look at each team from around the NHL leading to the start of this hockey season and
offers our insight and analysis. Makes sure to stick around until the end of the series, where we’ll offer our full predictions for the standings in each division, and eventually our collective LWOS 2014-15 Stanley Cup pick. You can check out all our articles on our Puck Drop Page. Today is the 2014-15 Montreal Canadiens.
Puck Drop: 2014-15 Montreal Canadiens Preview Part 2
To Read the Part 1 of the Preview, Click Here.
Players on the Rise
Max Pacioretty: Scoring 39 goals is no small feat and Pacioretty will look to reach the 40-goal campaign with the Habs this season. After speaking with Tony Marinaro of TSN690 last week, Pacioretty touched on his desire to get bigger, stronger and faster. He has taken on a new diet, is training extra hard in the gym (after taking just one week off after the playoffs ended) and with this, he hopes to become a better power forward and shake the labels off that he is a perimeter player. While his production does depend somewhat on the play of his linemate David Desharnais, Habs fans will be salivating over a bigger and faster Max Pacioretty.
Nathan Beaulieu: Although nothing is guaranteed at this point, I have absolutely convinced myself that Nate Beaulieu will find himself in the line-up on opening night. There is just too many tools to work with and such a young, fiery talent that you can’t leave off your roster. An absolute great when it comes to puck movement, Beaulieu will complete a second wave on the powerplay, possibly with Gilbert on his other side, so that he can showcase his accurate shot and his fancy stick-work and passing. Beaulieu has the potential to be an offensive threat on the powerplay, especially with all the extra room and God-given talent with the puck.
Brendan Gallagher: After his rookie campaign showed some promise of a goal-scoring winger, his second season in the NHL gave us a glimpse into his versatility and his ability to get under the skin of the opposition. There’s nothing more anger-inducing than a small kid that trash talks you, gives you a slash or two during the line-up for a faceoff and then turns to you and has a big, goofy smile. Gallagher now has earned himself the reputation of a goal-scoring winger that you want to punch in the face at any chance you get and someone like Gallagher will only take advantage of others’ frustration.
Players on the Decline
Travis Moen: It seems as though Moen’s best years are far behind him and the number of good games he has to offer are few and far between. Chalk it up to the injuries he’s had to recover from and his body slowly breaking down, Moen’s role on the forth line has been increasingly harder to maintain as each year passes by. With the youngsters coming in and making names for themselves, it’s very possible we see Moen out of the lineup sometime as soon as this season, barring any heroic performance early into the season.
Brandon Prust: Another body that seems to have a hard time keeping in the game, Prust will look to bounce back after last season. Prust has had his fair share of injuries over the years, namely his shoulders and his ribs. With the role that Prust plays and the aggression he loves to use to his advantage, a pair of bad shoulders will prevent him to an extent from being a physical intimidator. As a big fan of Prust myself, it hurts to think his game is slowly reaching a decline but Prust goes down to another injury, he may be in more trouble then he lets off.
Alexei Emelin: His hard-knock style has become a popular thing in the city of Montreal and the Russian defenseman’s popularity has risen with every big hit he delivers. The hashtag #EmelinBOOM is a shining example of that. Into the post-season, we begun to understand where his flaws are and it was getting beat to the outside and pressuring him into making poor decisions with the puck. Often, Emelin would look confused and without the puck, he was caught out of position on more than just a few occasions. If this trend continues like his Twitter hashtag did, Emelin’s stock could take a major hit.
Line Projections
Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais – P.A. Parenteau
Out of the Colorado frying pan and into the Montreal fire, Parenteau will be given the ultimate opportunity in playing on the Canadiens top line with a potential 40-goal scorer on the other wing. This move would give Desharnais two options to play with, like he had with Vanek and Pacioretty or Cole and Pacioretty. Desharnais could also be the kick-start to Parenteau hitting his 30-goal scoring mark once again, while giving Desharnais another option would create less transparency in their design while moving the puck up the ice. Facing weaker opposition as well would help their game and with the possible Canadiens line-up at hand, other lines could pick up the heavy lifting against tougher opposition while Desharnais and his wingers tear into the rest of the crop.
Alex Gachenyuk – Lars Eller – Brendan Gallagher
Re-uniting the kid line would be an interesting decision. Hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, if the kids can once again replicate what they did at the start of the season, two scoring lines would overwhelm the opposition on any given night. While keeping Galchenyuk on the wing isn’t exactly a popular thing to do and I personally would love to see him logging minutes down the middle, centerman don’t exaclty vanish into thin air to make room for others. Brendan Gallagher would add some grit and fierceness to a line based around finesse and puck possession with Eller and Galchenyuk. Gallagher would be the warrior in corners while Eller and Galchenyuk would work their magic with the puck on their stick. Defensively, they may need to be paired with a higher pairing defensive duo to cover up deficiencies on the back-end.
Jiri Sekac – Tomas Plekanec – Rene Bourque
This line really depends on two things: Playoff Bourque leaving regular season Borque at home and if Sekac lives up to the hype. All things considered, should the Habs get what they are expecting out of these two, you could have a great defensive shut-down group that takes down top lines of any team in the NHL. A Plekanec-Sekac duo is rather intriguing given they’re both Kladno natives and Sekac has adopted a similar style to Plekanec during his two years with the KHL. If Bourque does not pan out, he can easily be swapped out for a much quicker, fiery Michael Bournival, who would provide all the speed and heart in the world.
Brandon Prust – Manny Malhotra – Dale Weise
An energy line that can also do some damage offensively, Malhotra centering Prust and Weise could pan out. Weise proved during the playoffs last year that he has what it takes to be a third-line guy that can play well defensively and score goals. To have that on a forth line is an absolute treat. While Prust has had to overcome several injuries in the past few years, he is always on his game when he is completely healthy. A healthy Prust and a Weise with ants in his pants could really push the bottom trio to the next level. Malhotra will be the constant on the fourth line, and his reliability is without question.
All things considered, if expectations are met at all levels then the Habs could have a solid top-9 and a forth line that plays more like a third line.
Andrei Markov – PK Subban
The top pairing duo that provides elite offense and solid defense as well. It’s not likely these two will be taken away from each other as Markov is the most reliable two-way defenseman on the team whereas Subban is the biggest offensive threat on the back end and needs to play top end minutes to benefit the most from his skill set. This will also likely be the first pairing on the powerplay, with Markov setting up Subban for his cannon of a shot once again.
Alexei Emelin – Tom Gilbert
A secondary pairing of brute force and good footwork in Emelin paired with quick skating and smooth puck movement in Gilbert provides a duo that compliments one another. It was evident during the playoffs that Emelin was uncomfortable when handling the puck in his own end, which Gilbert excels at. Gilbert’s biggest knock to his name is that he is “soft as butter”. So spread that butter on some sandpaper and you got Emelin and Gilbert.
Mike Weaver – Nathan Beaulieu
Weaver personifies heart and adrenaline. Playing with every bit of emotion each and every shift he is thrown out there, Weaver is the work horse defenseman that every team wants on their roster. His veteran presence especially will come in handy when he takes on Nathan Beaulieu as his partner and guides him through the good times and bad during the NHL season. Weaver’s style also allows Beaulieu to be the defenseman of the duo to play with the puck while Weaver concentrates on the gritty aspect of the game in their own end.
2014-15 Season Expectations
For what seems like another year of more or less the same, the Canadiens will be in the thick of things with the likes of the Boston Bruins near the top of the Eastern Conference. A top three finish in their division doesn’t only seem possible, but likely. Their main concern heading into the season is the many question marks that surround the forward core. Will Desharnais be up to par with the way he ended last season? Will Jiri Sekac live up to the hype? Does Lars Eller take another plunge? Which Bourque will grace the fans?
Counting on all systems functioning properly, or at least the majority of them, the Montreal Canadiens should find themselves in a playoff position heading into the post-season. They have the talent, the speed, some of the size and the experience from last year’s deep playoff run to propel them to the next level. It doesn’t mean that the Montreal Canadiens will be your 2014-15 Stanley Cup Champions but it also doesn’t mean they are too far off from that scenario either.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter –@CrimsonSkorpion. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
For the latest in sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for? GO!
