Opening night

Team: 2022-23 Montreal Canadiens

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 8, 2022

Published: Aug. 8, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This is my opening night line up for Montreal. I think Slaf starts with Nick and Cole, not saying he finshes there or with the team for that matter but you give the first overall pick every chance to shine imo. On the second line you have drouin with dach and Gallagher. This is an interesting trio and I feel Drouin has a lot to prove in a contract year this could be his last shot with the Canadiens and if you put him with a young, big, skilled centreman and a proven 2 way 20 goal scorer in Gally, that’s the makings of a decent line (I think Galley gets back to 20-25 goals, was still good last year just unlucky). On the third line we got Dvorak centring Anderson and veteran new comer Dadanov. Dvorak had a very good impact under MSL and showed some chemistry with Andy in the past. This could be a line that scores a lot of goals but I don’t expect them to excel in their own zone. Then there’s a fun speedy fourth line of Pitlick, Evan’s, and Hoffman. I debated between Armia and Hoffman for that RW spot on the fourth line but MSL likes what Hoffman brings and he showed more then Armia did last season. Like the third line this could be a fun line to watch but may lack in their own zone.

On defence new comer Mike Matheson will take Romys spot next to Savard for the top pairing , their both respectable players but this is at best an average second pairing and they will likely see some rough times with other teams top players. The second pairing will have Joel Edmunson playing with Jordan Harris on his right side, hopefully Eddy can halo Harris hit his ceiling while also making a positive impact on the team. The third pairing is a pretty decent third pairing with veteran offensive mind in wideman with the young tough Guhle. I feel this kid is going to open some eyes at camp.
In net we kinda know what we got, Allen is a poor man’s starts, a rich man’s backup and monty is a fringe nhl goalie. All and all I hope this is how we start the season, I hope for a miracle with Prices health but at this point it seems unlikely. It’s looking like another year with a top 5 pick for Montreal as I don’t see the team winning much. I do think they will be entertaining and score a fair amount but the goals against will be pretty high. Cheers