The Montreal Canadiens open their regular season schedule on the road tonight against the Buffalo Sabres and are ready to turn the page on the most difficult and disheartening campaign of their franchise's incomparably illustrious history. They are looking to forget about all of the scrutiny they faced from practically everybody- journalists, fans, and former players- and are determined to provide Habs fans with an on-ice product unlike anything many have ever seen.
You need not look any further than the very changes brought about by general manager Marc Bergevin.
I've apologetically sang his praises on July 2nd and commended the exceptional work he has done over the course of the last few months.
Here's a quick reminder of what's (radically) different with this team's roster compared to the lineup that took to the ice at the start of 2015-2016:
Who's In
Shea Weber
Alexander Radulov
Andrew Shaw
Artturi Lehkonen
Mikhail Sergachev
Al Montoya
(Associate coach) Kirk Muller
Who's Out
P.K. Subban
Dale Weise
Lars Eller
Tomas Fleischmann
Tom Gilbert
Mike Condon
Leadership, character, and overall skill have all been convincingly addressed, as were scoring, stronger defense, and goaltending.
Therefore, I invite fans to move on.
I invite them to move on from the heartbreak and the anger they experienced. I encourage them to forget about a painfully long offseason that felt like it would never end and only got worse on June 29th. Moreover, I invite them to get (he who shall remain nameless) out of their heads once and for all, as his tendency to hog the puck and singlehandedly kill transitional play will certainly not be missed by a team that’s younger and faster than it was last year.
After all, it’s clear there’s an enormous difference in the Habs’ locker room. Everyone seems more confident, poised, and captain Max Pacioretty spoke about the “unity”- a term never used or heard last year- that defines this team. Head coach Michel Therrien reiterated what Pacioretty said, and Bergevin seems to have found the swagger that characterized him when he first took over as GM in 2012. Soon, we’ll find him joking and laughing at press conferences like he once did…
I encourage fans to remain patient before calling for management’s head- let’s give this team the time it needs to establish a lasting chemistry. There’s no reason to think that they could not finish amongst the top-10 teams of the league and punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs come next spring.
For now, let’s remember what unites us all. This is the most beautiful time of the year for hockey fans, and Habs fans deserve so much more than they were treated to last season.
Enjoy the 2016-2017 edition of your Montreal Canadiens- they will be fun to watch, I can guarantee it.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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