Montreal Canadiens season preview
The Montreal Canadiens are fully committed to the rebuild and despite a ton of injuries, last season was a step in the right direction for this young group. The expectations for Montreal won’t be very high yet again, but there are some bright spots and the team should perform a little bit better than they did in 2022-23.
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Offense
The Canadiens were missing two very important offensive players for half of the 2022-23 season. Cole Caufield only appeared in 46 games (26 goals, 10 assists) and the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Juraj Slafkovsky, only skated in 39 games (4 goals, 6 assists). To no surprise, this team finished at the bottom of many offensive categories such as high-danger chances per 60 (10.24) as well as shots on goal per game (27.3) and power play percentage (16.1%).
The Canadiens' first line consisting of Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach should be a fun one to watch, but after that, this team doesn’t pose much of an offensive threat. They brought in a young Stanley Cup champion in Alex Newhook, which was a strong acquisition, but it doesn’t necessarily move the needle.