It's that time of year, and on the eve of the Canadiens' 106th hockey season, it's time for some predictions about this edition. Before we go there, let's revisit last year, shall we.
a) P.K. Subban will lead the Habs in scoring. He finished second, behind Max Pacioretty, with 53 points.
b) Pacioretty will score more than 30 goals. 39 is well over 30
c) Price will record more than 30 wins for the second time of his career. You bet your sweet bippy he did. 34 to be precise, and he added another 11 points in the standings with OT and shootout losses.
d) David Desharnais will score at least 55 points (there's a bolder one). It was bold, and it was so close to being accurate despite a 19-game catastrophe, over which Desharnais couldn't muster more than a single assist. He finished with 52, on a near point per game pace after his fall hibernation.
e) Alex Galchenyuk will score at least 55 points. I guess this one was a year premature.
f) Daniel Briere will score at least 50 points (BOLD). Or, he'll score exactly half that amount. This wasn't bold, it was stupid.
g) At least six Habs will score 20 goals or more (boldest). Congratulations to Pacioretty and Plekanec who managed to do this. Brendan Gallagher had 19, Brian Gionta had 18. Does Thomas Vanek count? Nah... he scored six with the Habs. Hey, Desharnais had 16, which is amazing, considering he never shoots the puck.
h) Andrei Markov will finish top 3 in powerplay points. No he won't. He'll finish 35th, with 21 powerplay points.
i) The Habs will make the playoffs. DING! DING! DING!
I was 33%... Damn Desharnais.
Here are the predictions for this season:
1) 35... That's the number of goals Max Pacioretty will have.
2) 37... Carey Price will have at least that many wins this season.
3) Number 1...as in Number 1 in the Atlantic Division. That's where the Habs will finish.
4) 50...Is the minimum number of points a healthy Alex Galchenyuk will score this season.
5) Top 8...Is where the 19th ranked powerplay in last year's NHL will finish this year.
6) Four... I swear I'm getting it right this time; the number of 20-goal scorers on the Habs this year. I'll say Pacioretty, Plekanec, Gallagher and Galchenyuk are hitting that mark.
7) More than 10, more than 55... Goals and points for P.K. Subban.
8) +... In all but one of his seasons, Tom Gilbert has been a minus player. He finishes as a plus for only the second time in his career, proving how useless this stat is. After playing with the bad Oilers, the bad Wild and the bad Panthers, he's on a good Montreal Canadiens team.
9) 19... That's how many goals P.A. Parenteau's going to score this season. Here's one Canadiens' fans should hope I'm wrong about.
10) 50+...Wins for the Canadiens. That would be something, wouldn't it?
Bonus: Call me crazy (I'm expecting many of you to call me crazy as soon as you read this), I had/have the same Stanley Cup prediction as Pierre LeBrun. I've got Montreal against Chicago.