We are coming round the far turn with the 16th installment in my month long series of previews of every team in the NHL. Today Montreal… tomorrow, New Jersey (yes, I know… but I'll do the Preds at the end of the month.)

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Montreal Canadiens – The Centennial Season turned out to be a season to forget for the Habs. Coming off a successful playoff run, they were a favorite at the start of the year. To bring out an old quote, that’s why they play the games. A perfect storm gathered around this team, the crushing pressure from the expectations of fans and media, injuries, age, a goaltender that hit a bad sophomore slump and upheaval in the coaching organization. The inevitable first round playoff bow-out occurred. All of those factors led to an off-season purge, new faces, new coaches and one more chance for Bob Gainey to get this franchise back on track.

Last Year’s Record – 41-30-11 93 points. 2nd in the Northeast Division, 8th in the Eastern Conference.

Key Additions – Jaroslav Spacek, Mike Cammalleri, Hal Gill, Scott Gomez, Travis Moen, Brian Gionta

Key Subtractions – Tom Kostopoulos, Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Mike Komisarek, Alex Tanguay, Robert Lang, Chris Higgins

Division Match Up – Two teams made the playoffs out of the Northeast last season, Montreal barely scratched their way in. I only see two making it this year. After Boston, Montreal will battle Buffalo to be that second team.

Outlook for 2009-2010 – Questions abound for this team… How will Carey Price react to his sophomore slump? Is Jaroslav Halak ready for the number 1 if Price falters? Why did GM Bob Gainey let the Rangers off the hook for their crazy Scott Gomez contract? The Habs have been torn down and rebuilt, which leads to perhaps the largest question for Montreal… what will the chemistry of this team be? There are some very solid additions, reuniting Gomez with Brian Gionta may work well, Michael Cammalleri is a really nice player. Travis Moen could be the steal of the offseason. Coach Jacques Martin comes over from the GM job in Florida to take the reins behind the bench. I expect the Canadiens to be a much faster team and if their chemestry comes together quickly, they will compete for one of the last playoff slots in the East. If the chemestry doesn't happen, more changes may have to be made.

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The new HockeyBuzzRadio.com is live! Check out the new site with pictures from training camp, coverage of the Peterson for Parkinson’s event and a new exclusive column from HBR’s own Mark McGee.

www.hockeybuzzradio.com

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You are invited to follow me on Twitter @PredPAPaul Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates… I’ll also be updating during Predator home games with information and explanations from the PA box, starting lineups before they are announced in arena and interesting things as they happen.

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HockeyBuzz Radio cranks it up again two weeks from tonight with a detailed preview of the NHL season. Pete Weber is joining the show as co-host. He will bring a depth of knowledge and his slightly bent sense of humor to the proceedings. We are very excited to welcome Pete to the HBR team!

The season premier is Wednesday September 30th at 6pm on air at SportsRadio 560 WNSR, on line and on podcast at HockeyBuzzRadio.com.

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