| | By Charles Avellino
Special to ESPN.com
Clubhouse/schedule | Stats: Preseason / '98-99 | Roster
Last year: 32-39-11, 75 points (Missed playoffs)
Coach: Alain Vigneault
GM: Rejean Houle
KEY ADDITIONS
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KEY LOSSES
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Name
Trevor Linden
Jim Cummins
Barry Richter
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Pos.
F
F
D
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From
Islanders
Coyotes
Islanders
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Name
Jonas Hoglund
Stephane Quintal
Brett Clark
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Pos.
F
D
D
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To
Maple Leafs
Rangers
Thrashers
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Outlook
Did you ever hear of the seven-year-itch? Well, they have something like that going in Montreal. The Canadiens have never gone more than seven years without winning the Stanley Cup. If the club stays true to form, that means they'll win it this season. But don't bet on it.
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The Canadiens must deal positively with the changes they made. They lost Stephane Quintal, a very good
defenseman, and added Trevor Linden. They lost Mark Recchi at the trade deadline.
Will they be better? There's a lot of pressure on coach Alain Vigneault. The Canadiens have to make the playoffs this year or
I'm sure he'll be gone. They have a new team president, Pierre Boivin. Montreal will be an interesting team to watch. I can't see them
making the playoffs because some other teams in the East that didn't make the playoffs last year have improved.
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This team is short on talent and depth everywhere except goalie, where they are merely average. In simpler terms, only woeful Tampa Bay scored fewer goals than the Habs last season. And it's not going to get much better this season.
The best forward line consists of Saku Koivu, Trevor Linden and Martin Rucinsky, none of whom reached the 20-goal mark last season. The second lunit likely will feature interchangeable parts like Shayne Corson, Benoit Brunet and Brian Savage. But the thin roster already is beset by injuries. Koivu will not be 100 percent when the season begins due to knee surgery during the summer, and Brunet may be out until late November or December due to chronic back problems. Jason Ward , 1997 first-round pick (18th overall), could be a bright spot up front.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, the injury bug isn't limited to forwards. Defenseman Patrice Brisebois is suffering from back woes and may miss the first two weeks of the season. After Vladimir Malakhov, Eric Weinrich and Scott Lachance, there's not much left on the blue line. It's doubtful the Canadiens will improve upon their No. 13 ranking in goals allowed.
Jeff Hackett should be solid in net. The veteran set a career mark for games played last season and, barring injury, will play at least 60-65 games. His back-up is Jose Theodore. However, if he doesn't improve from his 4-12-0 showing last season, Frederic Chabot will be the backup.
If the Canadiens get off to a slow start, Alain Vigneault will be a good bet to be one of the first coaching casualties. Not only will Montreal's run of winning the Cup at least once every seven years come to an end this season, the Canadiens won't even make the playoffs.
The bottom line
Better or not: Not
By how much: 3-5 fewer wins
Most improved: Saku Koivu
Most valuable: Jeff Hackett
Biggest disappointment: Brian Savage
Charles Avellino is a lead NHL researcher for ESPN.
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