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Teztify · 10-16-2010, 08:09 PM

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

10-16-2010, 08:09 PM	#1
Teztify Rookie OVR: 0 Join Date: Oct 2010	Les Glorieux \|\| Les Canadiens de Montreal 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