The Canadiens made a number of changes over the summer, and the team’s bottom six has changed significantly.
In particular, the team let go of forwards Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia, who signed contracts with the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings respectively.
These two forwards played regularly on the short-handed and formed an effective penalty-killing duo.
They helped the Habs finish ninth in the NHL last season with an 80.9% efficiency rate short-handed.
Add in the loss of David Savard, who retired at the end of last campaign, and it quickly becomes apparent that the Canadiens have several positions to fill at the disadvantage.
One wonders who will replace them next season.
And in an ideal world, Nick Suzuki should play four-on-five as little as possible (if at all).
The Habs’ latest acquisition, center Joe Veleno, could be part of the answer.
The Montreal native says he’s up for the challenge if that’s the role the Canadiens want him to play.
Grant McCagg discussed the situation on the Recrutes Draftcast podcast and believes that two players could replace Dvorak and Armia: Brendan Gallagher and Alex Newhook.
In Gallagher’s case, he’s already played on the power play in the past.
What’s more, he’s the kind of player who’s not afraid to be physical and sacrifice himself, for example by blocking a shot – useful assets when it comes to killing penalties.
As for Newhook, McCagg believes it’s his speed that could be his main quality in smothering the opposing team’s massive attack.
On the other hand, the forward will have to improve in the face-off circle, because with a 42.8% rate last season, he’s likely to often use his speed to chase the puck.
It’s a little better for Veleno, who won 46.9% of his face-offs, but that’s a far cry from Dvorak’s 55.8%.
In short, it’ll be interesting to see who will play on the Habs’ power play this fall, and don’t forget that the club must also replace Savard on defense.
