Fantasy season preview: Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are coming off an exciting 2010 play-off run and are keen on maintaining their strong play into the 2010-11 season. However, many experts have Montreal destined for another eighth place finish, as general manager Pierre Gauthier did
not make the changes necessary throughout the summer to ensure an improved line-up.
In terms of fantasy hockey, Canadiens offer a couple of top-end prospects with most of their talent falling in the middle to late rounds and almost all draft selections limited to the forward core. Up front, Montreal has a couple of players who are draft
eligible, but should be selected carefully because of lack of consistency. On defence, the Canadiens are almost entirely barren of top-level talent; while in net not much can be said for the tandem of Carey Price and Alex Auld.
Forward
The Canadiens possess the most fantasy depth up front. They have a couple of players who can be slotted into the top four rounds, with the majority of their talent slipping to the bottom or out of most drafts.
The best bet when selecting a member of the Canadiens is Mike Cammalleri. The winger is the heart of the Montreal offence and had a brilliant season last year. Even with an injury Cammalleri slotted home 26 goals and 50 points last season, while going plus-7
with 60 penalty minutes (PIMs) and four game-winning-goals (GW). Following up Cammalleri in most pools is sure to be Tomas Plekanec. The centre had a strong year in 2009-10, but is known for his inconsistency and could be a risky pick early. Plekanec is best
left as a possible mid-draft steal.
A sleeper up front could be Brian Gionta, who was limited to 61 games last season with an injury. However, the undersized forward still managed 28 goals and 46 assists, to go along with 10 power-play-points (PP). Watch for Gionta to slip because of his injury
last season. He should be a solid mid-draft selection.
Scott Gomez often comes up on the fantasy player’s radar, however the 30-year-old is a gutsy selection at centre, simply because he has not been able to get above 60 points in the last five seasons. Moreover, the veteran does not shine in all categories,
making him an average rotisserie selection.
Defence
The Canadiens have a porous defence core and therefore will not offer much in the way of top level talent. The prize possession of the Montreal blue line is Andrei Markov and there is no doubt he can rack up points when healthy. However, the Russian star
has struggled with the injury bug and has already been ruled out for the beginning of the season. Nevertheless, Markov is worth drafting, but not early in the proceedings.
After Markov there is an incredible drop-off in talent at the back end. Nevertheless, 21-year-old P.K. Subban is worth keeping an eye on as the youngster was tremendous in the post-season for the Canadiens. With only two games of regular season experience
under his belt, Subban is far from an early pick. However, he might be worth a risky late selection in deep drafts or keeper leagues.
Goaltending
The Canadiens face a number of questions in goal heading into the 2010-11 season. The majority of this pessimism is a result of the club trading away play-off hero Jaroslav Halak and going with the up-and-down play of Price. There is no doubt that Price
has a great deal of potential, however he has failed to harness it over the past two seasons.
Alex Auld is set to back-up Price, but could see significant time if the youngster is not up to the challenge.
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