With the most challenging year of their rebuild in the rearview mirror, the Montreal Canadiens are looking to regain their competitive edge.
We may be a few months out from dropping the puck on the 2023-24 season, but it’s never too early to project Montreal’s lines.
While the Habs’ young core remains intact, with players like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Kirby Dach set to take on primary roles, there have been a few additions and subtractions to the team.
Based on who the Canadiens currently have on their roster — plus some help from DailyFaceoff.com, here’s an educated guess for what the Habs’ lineup will look like come October.
Forward lines
- Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Kirby Dach
- Alex Newhook – Sean Monahan – Josh Anderson
- Juraj Slafkovsky – Christian Dvorak– Brendan Gallagher
-
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard – Jake Evans – Mike Hoffman
Extras: Joel Armia, Michael Pezzetta
The Canadiens have a bit of a logjam up front. With depth players like Rem Pitlick in the system and rookies like Sean Farrell and Lias Andersson, fans should expect some shuffling around throughout the year.
A trade to free up some space is also possible.
Defensive pairings
- Mike Matheson – David Savard
- Kaiden Guhle – Jordan Harris
- Arber Xhekaj – Justin Barron
Extras: Johnathan Kovacevic, Chris Wideman
While trading away veteran blueliner Joel Edmundson over the offseason has freed up some space on the back end, Montreal’s bottom pairing still has the potential to alternate based on training camp and pre-season performances.
Top defensive prospects David Reinbacher and Lane Hutson are showing elite potential, but it’s unlikely that either of them break through to the NHL this year.
Goalies
- Samuel Montembeault
- Jake Allen
While Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen split the crease last year, don’t be surprised if Montembeault, who finished the season with better stats and represented Canada at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in May, takes on a more significant role next season.
If the Becancour, Quebec, native can continue at a similar pace, he may likely be Montreal’s starter for next season and beyond.
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