New in Town: Montreal Canadiens

Finishing the 2017-18 season with the fourth-worst record in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens shook things up this summer.

The most notable move the Habs made saw Max Pacioretty leave ‘La Belle Province’ after 10 seasons of service. With the long-time captain now gone, opportunity beckons for others in red, white and blue.

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The post-hype prospect: Max Domi

The name doesn’t carry as much excitement as it did a few seasons ago, but that doesn’t mean Max Domi can’t live up to the buzz which initially surrounded him.

Acquired from the Arizona Coyotes for Alex Galchenyuk before the draft, Domi remains early on in his development at just 23. Pegged as Montreal’s top centre, he has an excellent opportunity to accelerate toward his lottery-selection potential.

One trait Domi did flash some signs of early in his career was the ability to put the puck in the net. Prior to his hand injury during the 2016-17 season, the fiery forward had 23 goals through his first 107 games. Since, he’s been reduced to 13 goals across 115 games.

The Canadiens need to see more of his finishing ability — or risk being unseated by preseason standout and top selection from this summer, Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

The boom or bust veteran: Tomas Tatar

Sure, Tatar has reached the 20-goal plateau in each of his past four seasons, but things have been trending downward of late for the veteran forward packaged in the Pacioretty deal.

Last season marked a career-worst -19 mark for the shifty forward. Of course, you might be thinking ‘well, the Red Wings were pretty brutal last year.’ And you are right, they were — but Tatar was only a minus-eight in Detroit. During his 20-game regular season stint with the Vegas Golden Knights, one of the top performing teams in the NHL, he somehow managed to post a mark of -11.

One thing Montreal will hope to see is Tatar’s shooting percentage increase from last season. While down only a few points, a return to his career average and more ice time could see him fly past the 20-goal threshold.

The jack of all trades: Joel Armia

Joel Armia hasn’t displayed the offensive upside that earned him a first-round designation since breaking into the NHL, but his all-around game is something that should excite Canadiens fans.

With Winnipeg, Armia played most of his minutes on the team’s bottom six; in Montreal he could plausibly feature on the top line. He should build on his career-best numbers from a season ago in an expanded role.

The 25-year old is also an adept penalty killer. Armia generated the most shots among Jets forwards despite five others logging more minutes. Expect him to help a Habs team which finished with the second worst PK last year.

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