Phase Two of Rebuild a Work in Progress

           After a quiet offseason, the Canadiens continued to tinker with its roster. Adding depth at all positions and hopefully some more scoring. The Canadiens believe the arrival of a couple of rookies with some vets may make the team moderately improved this season.

Forwards:

Scoring was a huge issue last season and the team addressed those concerns with Anisimov, Bjugstad, and Dach. The Canadiens were clear last season that throwing free agency money at the problem was not the solution. With Kesler's contract off the books with a career ending injury, the urgency of finding good centermen became a must. Anisimov and Bjugstad are not going to win any scoring titles but their offensive skill set and size is a welcome addition. Dach is an exciting rookie who will challenge for rookie scoring this season.

Ferland is the only addition to the wingers. It is unreasonable to expect him to duplicate 24 goal and 48 point season but if he can come close to it that would be great. Pirri hada breakout year and could see his numbers around the 50 point mark with better centers this season. Perry is getting long in the tooth but is the only scoring option on the right. 

Defense:

Dermott got his feet wet last season and will be asked to avoid the sophmore slump this season. MacDonald was brought over to give Dermott some support and will definately see his minutes and appearances increase thi season. Mete showed a modest improvement in his numbers but his plus/minus totals were ugly. That is not a surprise given he played heavy minutes last season. Beyond that, the Canadiens will plug holes with veteran farm hands until better options present themselves. For players like Wotherspoon and Nesterov, they are playing for new contracts. The defence will most likely get younger next season when Wolanin and Whitecloud move up.  

Goaltending:

Other than center, this is the other area of strength with three goalies who could be starters. Howard arrived at the trade deadline and was key in helping Montreal finishing the season strong. Crawford was acquired to tandem with Howard and provide some calmness in nets for a younf inexperienced defence. Elvis is in the building and is hoping to get some crease time as well. expect to see his numbers increase when either Crawford or Howard are moved at deadline day.

Coaching:

Dave Tippett comes to Montreal after Laviolette was let go. He spent six season with the team and won 196 games during that time. However, the Canadiens felt that if changers were going to made it meant a change of philosophy was needed. Tippett comes to a team that can go only improve, they couldn't possibly be worse. Special Teams will be key to giving Montreal a fighting chance at winning games. 

Payroll:

One of the lowest payrolls in the league the Canadiens are in good shape Anisimov is on a 3yr deal at 3.2 million and Bjugstad makes 2.5 million for 4yrs, so both deals don't hurt the club. By the time these deals are done they will be in their early 30's and the youth movement will probably push them out of town. Crawford is on a 1yr deal and won't finish the season based on teams alrready calling for him. Perry is a buyout candidate next seson depending how he plays. Howard wil be gone in two yrs and the rest of the contracts are two way deals. Pirri and MacDonald are in the final yrs of their respective deals. Will they be moved or resigned?

Outlook:

This the first full season of the rebuild. The team have two exciting rookies in Merzlikins and Dach. Center is in better shape than last season and the goaltending wiil give them a fighting chance. Tippett will provide leadership and a new voice behind the bench. The Canadiens could win 20 to 25 games this season which would put them close to their 2017-18 totals. That would be considered a win in Montreal.