1) Asking a simple question over on CTV this morning, will the
Habs defence be better than it was last year?.
2) Have to like the idea of having Randy Cunneyworth and Randy Ladouceur coming to the Montreal bench. They've already had a fair bit of influence on the development of David Desharnais, Max Pacioretty, Yannick Weber and Ryan White. They can probably have a strong impact on the quick development of Emelin and Diaz.
3) Kirk Muller's loss will likely have the biggest impact on the veterans of the Canadiens. He was an excellent go between for Jacques Martin and the players, and there's no question they'll miss his quick strategy sessions on the bench. That said, Martin can communicate better than most give him credit for. In the end, Muller wasn't selling something different than Martin's strategy, so not much changes with Muller gone.
4) The top-five powerplays in the league last season were all in the Western Conference. Tampa Bay was the top ranked Eastern powerplay, and right behind them, despite some rocky points throughout the season, were the Montreal Canadiens. Buffalo was the only other Eastern team with a top-10 powerplay.
No other Eastern playoff team, outside of Montreal, Tampa and Buffalo finished in the top-15 powerplays in the league.
5) Penalty killing is more important. Only two of the top-10 penalty killing teams missed the playoffs last season: Ottawa and Florida. Three of the top-5 penalty killing teams finished the season with home-ice advantage. Nashville ranked 5th in the West, and Los Angeles finished one point behind in 7th.
6) Do the Canadiens have enough penalty killing specialists? With Pyatt, Halpern and Hamrlik gone the void can be filled by other players on the team. But as it stands these players are set to contribute to the PK: Plekanec, Gomez, Gionta, Moen, Darche, White, Gorges, Gill, Emelin, Spacek. With that mix, you have to think Plekanec and Gionta are going be playing more penalty kill minutes this year.
7) Will Peter Budaj get more games in than Alex Auld did last year? I suppose it depends on how he plays. Or does it depend on how Price plays?
8) I advanced the following d-pairings on this morning's blog:
Markov-Gorges
Subban-Gill
Emelin-Spacek
*I think Diaz or Weber will supplant Spacek at some point, if not right out of camp.
9) What do you expect out of Andrei Kostitsyn this year? A chance to be a UFA, I have a hard time believing you'll be able to keep him out of the top six, if your plan is to have Max Pacioretty skate in his place. The competition between the two will be fierce.
From a coach's perspective, it's pretty clear which player will be a part of the team's future. But the motivation Kostitsyn has to perform is as high as it can be, and I think that'll bring out the best in him.
Not to take away from Pacioretty's motivation. He's got strong words to back up, and obviously wants to prove his career hasn't been hindered by last year's devastating injuries.
10) And then you have David Desharnais. You get the sense this guy could explode at any point. So much skill. Can he stay healthy? Can he draw more penalties? This could be a breakout season for him.
Lars Eller must be praying he'll be ready for the start of the season.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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