The view of the Montreal Canadiens around the NHL apparently isn't quite as rosy as it is up north. Despite a 50-22-10 regular season record, a first-place finish in the Atlantic Division and a playoff series victory over the Ottawa Senators in 2014-15, it seems on the eve of the 2015-16 NHL season that the Habs are seen less as a team on the rise and more as a team living on borrowed time.
"They might make the playoffs but they're not going anywhere," an NHL scout told ESPN's Craig Custance recently. "They've overachieved. Their goaltender, if he ever becomes just regular for a month or two, they've got no shot."
While that's a harsh criticism of the team assembled by Marc Bergevin and the product iced by Michel Therrien, it's also a massive complement for last season's Vezina and Hart Trophy-winner, goaltender Carey Price. The 28-year-old Price was beyond phenomenal for the Canadiens last season, finishing the year with a .933 save percentage and a 1.96 goals against average.
Still, if not for Price's spectacular play on almost a nightly basis, the Habs likely wouldn't have escaped so many games with victories. Despite finishing the year as one of the league's best teams in terms of overall record, the Habs were not, by any measure, a strong puck-possession group. They gave up over 200 more shots than they took and their Corsi For percentage was 48.5, good enough for 23rd in the NHL.
The development of P.K. Subban into both a leader and well-rounded defensive presence was a massive boon for the team, but it didn't cure what ails a mediocre Montreal team, especially in their own zone.
In the end, Montreal will ask much of their diminutive forward group this season. If they're to make another run to the playoffs, Price will have to be spectacular and the likes of Alex Galchenyuk, now at center, will have to thrive alongside Max Pacioretty. Tomas Plekanec has not been the No. 1 pivot to lead the team to the Cup and must embrace a secondary role.
Does all this bode ill for the Habs this season as the unnamed NHL scout above suggests? Maybe. But what NHL team doesn't enter the season with questions? Therrien and Bergevin have a strong core in place, but they've also got work to do if they want to make this team truly Cup-worthy.
