Complete Guide to the Montreal Canadiens' 2015 Offseason

For the second consecutive season, the Montreal Canadiens enjoyed a relatively successful campaign. 

The regular season went extremely well, seeing the Habs post 110 points and finish second overall in the NHL standings, behind only the New York Rangers. They advanced to the second round of the playoffs, pushing the Atlantic Division final to five games before getting knocked off by the 108-point Tampa Bay Lightning. 

This performance comes on the heels of a 100-point 2013-14 campaign and a playoff run that took Montreal to the Eastern Conference Final before they were eliminated by the New York Rangers.

The task facing general manager Marc Bergevin now is to find a way to push the Canadiens even further, to transform them into a club capable of winning it all. With that objective in mind, how should his team approach the summer of 2015?  

Top Performers: Goaltender Carey Price (44-16-6, 0.933 save percentage) was Montreal's best player, and perhaps the best player in the entire NHL. He played behind a capable defence headlined by P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, one of the best pairings in hockey. Winger Max Pacioretty topped 30 goals for the third time in four years, scoring 37 for the Canadiens. 

Biggest Disappointments: When Lars Eller managed 30 points during the abbreviated 2012-13 campaign it was seen as a sign of things to come. Instead, he posted just 27 points last season after a 26-point performance in 2013-14. Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau failed to live up to expectations after coming over from Colorado; he managed just 22 points in 56 games.  

Final Assessment: On the whole, this wasn't a bad season for Montreal, and the Canadiens proved that with Price in net they are capable of putting together an exceptional regular season. The team failed to take the step from good to great, though, and that's a little disappointing. 

Finding offence. It isn't particularly hard to spot Montreal's Achilles' Heel. The Canadiens scored 2.61 goals per game in the regular season; among playoff teams no club finished the year with fewer goals. The team's primary quest this summer will be to find a way to upgrade the firepower in front of an excellent defence and an outstanding goaltender. 

The ongoing question of whether the team can win with Michel Therrien. Few coaches in hockey are as polarizing as Therrien, who was a somewhat controversial hire and who continues to inspire a wide range of emotion from Montreal's fans. 

Given that Montreal advanced to the second round, it seems highly unlikely that Therrien's job is in any danger, but that won't stop the conversation. Yahoo's Greg Wyshynski put it well in a recent column.

"Getting to the second round spares Therrien’s job; I think he’s on his “soff” behind if they had allowed Ottawa to rally in Round 1," writes Wyshynski. "But that doesn’t change the fact that this team’s offensive struggles can be traced to his system; a system that puts entirely too much on the shoulders of Carey Price."

The greatness of Carey Price. In the modern era of sports coverage, the focus always seems to be on what will happen next; this preview is a good example of the trend. But it's often worth taking some time to look backward at what was, and Price's season is one of those things that deserves that kind of respect.

The NHL announced late in April that Price was a contender for the Hart Trophy. As awards day approaches, expect to read plenty about a spectacular campaign from Montreal's No. 1 goaltender. 

Jeff Petry: The trade-deadline addition was a postseason revelation for the Habs. Petry logged tough minutes and lots of them at even strength, in addition to providing valuable contributions on the power play and penalty kill. He was Therrien's top choice for defensive-zone starts in the postseason. 

Sergei Gonchar: The 41-year-old veteran was a reasonable pickup from Dallas early in the year and allowed the Canadiens to slide out from under the extra year on forward Travis Moen's contract. Gonchar is not much more than a power-play specialist at this point in his career, despite his hefty $5.5 million cap hit, and it would be a surprise if the Canadiens were interested in keeping him around.  

Others: F Torrey Mitchell, F Manny Malhotra, D Mike Weaver, D Bryan Allen

Montreal's priority should be adding offensive weapons to the roster, but there is some housekeeping to take care of first. 

1. Jeff Petry. He fit like a glove in Montreal. He provides the backbone for an exceptional second defence pairing and fills in on special teams, too. Still in the heart of his career, Petry's a long-term fit behind P.K. Subban on the right side of the Habs defence. 

2. Drew Stafford. There really aren't many good offensive options available on the free-agent market this summer. He's a proven secondary scorer who could help upgrade Montreal's attack while adding a bit of size (6'2", 214 pounds) to a roster that doesn't have much of it. He'll turn 30 early next season, so he should still have some good years left.   

3. Justin Williams. The veteran Kings winger turns 34 in October, so he's older than ideal, but he would add some important ingredients to Montreal's roster. He's a superb two-way player, but he's also an excellent scorer who has sacrificed offence to play tough minutes on a defence-minded LA team. 

Montreal will be picking pretty late in the first round, but there will still be good players available there. 

Brock Boeser. Montreal has some history of drafting out of the U.S. system, and Boeser would be an interesting add. He scored 35 goals in 57 games at the USHL level this season, and has good size and speed. 

Filip Chlapik. Chlapik is a good fit for Montreal's needs, combining offensive ability with decent size and that hallmark Canadiens speed. Dan Marr of NHL Central Scouting summed him up this way in conversation with NHL.com's Mike Morreale: 

Filip is a very good skater with good vision and puck skills. He always seems to be in the right position on the ice both with and without the puck, he can jump on loose pucks and transition quickly. He's got a good combination of size, skating and hockey sense.

Evgeny Svechnikov. It would be a bit of a surprise if Svechnikov fell to the Canadiens, but stranger things have happened, and his Russian last name will scare off some teams. Svechnikov combines size (6'2", 200 pounds) with exceptional offensive ability and good speed. He's already playing in the QMJHL, and Montreal has had good success developing Russians. 

Alexei Emelin. The big Russian defenceman had a bit of a rough year, though he should be capable of bouncing back. Montreal has a bit of a logjam on its blue line, however, particularly if it manages to get Jeff Petry re-signed. There are a number of good young players on the way and a need to clear salary space as well as a need to add firepower up front; shipping Emelin away as part of package to address the offence could solve a bunch of problems all at once.  

Zachary Fucale. Montreal is set in net; it doesn't really need a blue-chip goalie prospect. Combine that lack of need with some poor regular-season work from Fucale this year, and there's a lot to be said for moving the goalie in a trade for offence. 

1. Phil Kessel. He'd be an awfully good fit in Montreal, and the Canadiens have the assets. He brings elite speed and scoring ability to a team built on the former and in desperate need of the latter. Not many teams have the same level of need, the assets and the cap space that Montreal does. 

2. Patrick Sharp. Bergevin has ties to Chicago, and the Blackhawks need to dump salary in a big way this summer. Sharp is a volume shooter, a solid two-way player with decent size and speed and would bolster the Habs' attack in a big way. He's 33, but he scored 34 goals just one season ago.

3. Nail Yakupov. Alex Galchenyuk's old Sarnia Sting teammate has had an uneven NHL debut, but the 2012 first overall pick appears to finally be turning a corner, and the Edmonton Oilers are in brutal shape defensively. 

1. Greg Pateryn. Pateryn turns 25 this summer and after a successful NHL cameo late in 2014-15 is likely to make the jump full-time next year, at least as a No. 7 defenceman. 

2. Jarred Tinordi: A mammoth defensive defenceman, Tinordi has shown well over stretches but has yet to secure a full-time NHL job. The clock is ticking, and he should be given every opportunity to make the jump in 2015-16. 

3. Sven Andrighetto: A diminutive Swiss winger, Andrighetto got a 12-game cameo in 2014-15, and with two full AHL campaigns under his belt is a prime candidate to graduate to the majors at some point next season. He has defensive issues, but he can score. 

4. Michael McCarron: A first-round pick in the 2013 NHL draft, McCarron took some encouraging strides forward in the OHL in 2014-15. He's not likely to be a high-end scorer, but the Habs are likely to give the 6'6", 225-pound winger a shot as soon as he looks ready for it. 

5. Charles Hudon: One of many undersized scorers in Montreal's organization, Hudon posted 57 points as an AHL rookie in 2014-15 and is a good candidate for some NHL minutes in 2015-16. 

Forwards

• Max Pacioretty—Alex Galchenyuk—Brendan Gallagher
• [veteran scoring LW]—David Desharnais—Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau
• Lars Eller—Tomas Plekanec—Jacob De La Rose
• Brandon Prust—Brian Flynn—Dale Weise
• Spares: Devante Smith-Pelly, Michael Bournival

Defense

• Andrei Markov—P.K. Subban
• Nathan Beaulieu—Jeff Petry
• Jarred Tinordi—Tom Gilbert
• Spare: Greg Pateryn 

Goal

• Carey Price
• Dustin Tokarski