Les Glorieux || Les Canadiens de Montreal

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MONTREAL, QC - The 2009-10 season was a memorable one for fans of the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens, or the Habs as many call them, ended their one-hundredth anniversary in fashion, surprising the hockey world by advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they would lose in five games to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Canadiens upset both the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins in their playoff run, largely thanks to goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Halak showed he was an elite netminder, with multiple forty-plus save games to keep the Canadiens in the mix. Now, gone is Jaroslav Halak, shipped to St. Louis. Taking the flight back to Montreal would be prospects Lars Eller and Ian Schultz, but before we get into that, let's take a look back at a historic season.

This was a new-look team after dropping former captain Saku Koivu, along with cornerstone players Mike Komisarek, Alexei Kovalev, amongst others to free-agency. Gone were the days of selfishness, and a new era was ushered in. The Canadiens signed coach Jacques Martin, Scott Gomez was brought over in a trade involving Christopher Higgins, which also gave the Canadiens bottom-six player Tommy Pyatt. The Habs would also sign free agents Michael Cammalleri, Brian Gionta, Hal Gill, Jaroslav Spacek, Paul Mara and Marc-Andre Bergeron. The Canadiens would enter the 2009-10 season without a captain, a first in franchise history. Yes, the team looked very different.. and one thing was apparent... very small. The Canadiens were criticized for maybe being too small, but that only added fuel to the fire, as the Canadiens went on to a record of 39-33-10, good enough to squeeze into the playoffs by finishing eighth in the East. However, that doesn't mean that the year was stress-free, as General Manager Bob Gainey would step-down during the regular season, making Pierre Gauthier the new GM of Les Glorieux. The Canadiens also faced injury troubles as all-star defenseman Andrei Markov would miss months of play after being injured with a sliced tendon during the opening game of the season. Other injuries saw stars like Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta go down for long periods of time. Not to mention the goalie controversy. Carey Price, a former fifth round draft pick started the season as a starter, and ended it the undisputed number two. After a stellar rookie season, and an average sophomore season (where he was put off his game with an injury in December), Carey Price put up an atrocious thirteen wins in the 2009-10 season, despite having a solid save percentage and goals against average. Without Jaroslav Halak, it's doubtful the Canadiens would have had very much success this past season.

The word "pressure" was re-defined for Canadiens players in the playoffs, falling behind in two straight series, only to force game sevens where they would eventually advance. Not to mention that this was all done in a Hockey Mecca like Montreal, where the fans will boo their own players when they lose, and burn empty police cars in celebration when they win. 20-year-old rookie defenseman PK Subban would witness baptism by fire as Andrei Markov was injured for the second time in the season, as he was called up from the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs to the Canadiens line-up. He would replace Markov on the first defensive pairing, averaging over twenty minutes per game, nearly unheard of for a rookie. Subban played solid hockey, which led to the Montreal faithful chanting his name and cheering every time he touched the puck. It was during the playoffs that the fans of Le Bleu, Blanc et Rouge would witness Subban's first NHL goal. Michael Cammalleri would score more goals than any other player in the playoffs with thirteen goals in nineteen games, even though Montreal failed to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Despite all this success, the journey would come to an end in Philadelphia, where the Flyers bested the Canadiens in five games, sending the Canadiens players out with one message.. "That was for real."

That's the message that the Canadiens are going to have to prove this season after losing goalie Jaroslav Halak and signing free agent netminder Alex Auld to play backup to Carey Price. Are the Canadiens for real, or did they just get lucky? Find out in the 2010-11 season, as questions.. become answers.

EXPECTED OPENING DAY LINE-UP

Mike Cammalleri - Tomas Plekanec - Andrei Kostitsyn
Benoit Pouliot - Scott Gomez - Brian Gionta
Dustin Boyd - Lars Eller - Tommy Pyatt
Travis Moen - Jeff Halpern - Maxim Lapierre

PK Subban - Andrei Markov
Josh Gorges - Hal Gill
Roman Hamrlik - Jaroslav Spacek

Carey Price
Alex Auld

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TWENTY-EIGHTH CAPTAIN IN CANADIENS HISTORY NAMED




MONTREAL - This video was released to the public earlier today. Following the Canadiens exit from the playoffs, head coach Jacques Martin publicly stated that the club would have a captain for the 2010-11 campaign. Martin held true to his word as he named 31 year old Brian Gionta the twenty-eighth captain in Canadiens history. Gionta - only 5'6" with skates on - is known for his leadership ability, along with his aggressive and fearless play-style, despite his small stature. Many in the Habs locker-room feel that Gionta was the best man for the job.

"We're all really happy for him. The [captaincy] couldn't have gone to a better guy, and it was definitely the right choice." said teammate Michael Cammalleri. "He's a leader on and off the ice so having the "C" on his jersey won't change how he acts, but it's definitely a way of rewarding him."

Along with his personality and ability to handle the Montreal media, Brian Gionta brings no shortage of experience with him. Gionta spent eight years with the New Jersey Devils organization, where he won the Stanley Cup in the 2002-03 season with the team, along with current Canadiens teammate Scott Gomez who also played with the Devils in that year. "It's great to see him get the letter." said Gomez "I've spent a lot of time with him over the years and there's no one more deserving in our locker room. We're a team full of leaders but Gio (Gionta) is always the first one to stand up and get us going when we're losing."

[apalmer30]

Nice start to this, hope you take it far.

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MONTREAL CANADIENS - PRE-SEASON REPORT

Michael Cammalleri is seen celebrating his first pre-season goal against Senators goalie prospect Robin Lehner

MONTREAL - The NHL pre-season has ended, and for the Montreal Canadiens, the future is foggy. The Canadiens started the pre-season strong, but keep in mind that rosters were made up of mostly prospects. The Canadiens started with a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at home with Carey Price in goal. Michael Cammalleri tied the game for the Habs in the second period, and the team would add two more late in the third from Lars Eller and prospect Louis Leblanc who tallied the empty netter. The success continued as the Canadiens rolled in to Buffalo where they would shutout the hometown Sabres 3-0 in front of expected backup goalie Alex Auld. However, after that is when things went awry. Montreal would head to Toronto to face their arch-rival Maple Leafs where they would lose in a hard-fought battle by a score of 3-1. This loss came in young netminder Peter Delmas' first professional hockey game, after which he was sent back to junior by the club. Things only got worse for the Canadiens, and for Carey Price's attempt to get the crowd behind him again, as he allowed four goals in the first two periods of play, and Alex Auld would come in and allow one more in the third. The Canadiens lost that game 5-1, with Mike Cammalleri scoring the only goal for le bleu, blanc et rouge.

There was a four-way tie for point-leader amongst Canadiens players between forwards Lars Eller and Mike Cammalleri, and defensemen PK Subban and Josh Gorges. Cammalleri put up two goals in two games while Subban and Gorges each put up two assists - also in two games. Lars Eller played three games for the Canadiens, and recorded one goal and one assist. Veteran defenseman Hal Gill led the team in penalty minutes with five in three games. Carey Price and Peter Delmas each had a goals against average of 3.00, while Alex Auld allowed none in his game. Price had a below-average save percentage with 85.3%, which he hopes will get better heading into the season. "I think I played two good games. Obviously in that second game I had some trouble against the Bruins, but I think I performed well." said Price.

Recently drafted prospects such as Louis Leblanc (2009 first round pick) and Jarred Tinordi (2010 first round pick) also had impressive showings in the Canadiens pre-season. Tinordi played two games, registering five hits and 29 minutes of ice-time. "He's got a bright future with us." said defenseman Roman Hamrlik, who played with Tinordi. "He's got a big body and he can crush people along the boards. He doesn't allow players to get by him without a fight." A big body indeed, as the teenage defenseman stands at 6'6" and near 210 pounds. Louis Leblanc added a goal in his three games, and while it was an empty netter, coach Jacques Martin was impressed with the young mans poise and work ethic on the ice. "He's a hard worker and that's what earns you a spot on teams. This kid is going places in this organization." said Martin.

So with a 2-2 record in the pre-season, the Canadiens are making the finishing touches on their NHL roster and are looking forward to a new season. The question is.. what side of this team will we see? The one who went 2-0 early on, or the one who took two losses to end the pre-season?

[HeroWorship]

Cool that you signed Tinordi for the pre-season, and got him some playing time. Can't wait for this to begin.