The centre spot has been a weak spot for the Habs for quite a long time. However, over the past few years, there has been considerable turnover at that position with some promising additions although more work still needs to be done.
After the season, it was stated that there would be a captain in place for the 2022-23 campaign to replace Shea Weber. At their annual charity golf tournament on Monday, the Habs announced that Nick Suzuki is their new team captain.
When the Habs parted with a pretty good young defenceman in Alexander Romanov to get Kirby Dach at the draft, they were taking a bit of a risk. With the contract they handed Dach on Wednesday, they’ve taken another one.
It took longer than many expected but the Habs have signed their last remaining restricted free agent, announcing on Thursday that they’ve inked Cayden Primeau to a three-year, one-way contract.
While it took a little longer than many would have expected, the Habs have signed their key offseason acquisition, announcing on Wednesday that they’ve inked Kirby Dach to a four-year contract.
While it’s more than clear that Evgenii Dadonov was a cap dump by Vegas, it doesn’t change the fact that he has largely been a capable top-six winger that should be able to help the Canadiens offensively this coming season.
Last season was a tough one for many Habs but Mike Hoffman, in particular, had a year to forget. But with the team intending to be more offensive-minded in 2022-23, what type of bounce-back should the team be expecting from him?
A few years ago, the Habs were in good shape on the left wing. Since then, it has been an organizational weakness. Today, the Canadiens have some depth at the position although a lot of it is of the short-term variety.
With a little patience, rebuilt scoring lines can be filled internally so while there are plenty of veterans on Montreal’s roster now, there shouldn’t be for too much longer.
Brendan Gallagher had long been a consistent scorer for the Habs before his production fell off the last two seasons. But with a longer offseason under his belt and a full year under Martin St. Louis, could he be primed to rebound?