I wonder if the Habs would be interested in signing Tyler Bozak for $1 Mill. I think Bozak would be great as a 4th line player (or taxi) plus he has a great faceoff percentage which is an area we currently lack.

Taxi-squads don’t exist anymore, and Bozak is way better than a 4th line player. I was advocating for getting Bozak as a middle-6 centre before we lost KK, but I’m pretty sure he has a deal with St. Louis, and is just waiting for them to figure out their cap situation. It’s the only explanation for a player that good still being available.

I 100% agree with your assessment on the lines. The 3 RW pairs seem mostly locked in place, and the LWs could rotate depending on what works. 4th line should be Lehkonen - Poehling - Armia unless injuries happen.

For the D Edmundson - Petry is a no-brainer. I think they’ll try Romanov with Savard, to try and balance out a bit of the offensive abilities of the pairs. Chiarot will either play on the left side of Wideman, or the right side of Kulak, depending on how Wideman plays in camp.

Armia-Suzuki-Caufield
Toffoli-Drouin-Andersson
Hoffman-Dvorak-Gallagher
Perreault-Evans-Lekhonen

Edmunson-Petry
Chariot-Vatanen (sign as UFA and Kulak traded)
Romanov-Savard

Extra: Paquette-Belzile-Wideman
IR: Byron
LTIR: Weber

I agree with most of the lineup. Here are my lines and pairings:

Drouin-Suzuki-Caufield (Drouin is the playmaker that will feed his linemates)
Hoffman-Dvorak-Anderson
Toffoli-Evans-Gallagher
Lekhonen-Paquette-Armia (don't think Poehling makes the club out of camp. I think he needs another season in Laval to dominate like he did last year in 28 games)

Edmundson-Petry
Romanov-Savard
Chiarot-Wideman (Wideman starts the year on the third pair to give the opportunity. If he doesn't move the puck well or isn't creating some offense, Kulak will draw in and Chiarot will move to the right side)

Once Byron is back in December/January, he'll rotate in and out of the lineup on the fourth line. Then, I think depending on how the Habs are doing in the playoffs race, I think Lekhonen will be traded before the deadline, especially if Montreal is out of the playoffs.

New coach.... with a new fully implemented system.

Ducharme is all about puck possession, therefore, I think a player like Norlinder has a good chance to make the team.

Drouin-Suzuki-Caufield

(Drouin is back with a vengeance... its a high IQ line)

Toffoli-Dvorak- Gallagher

(It will be a similar line to the golden Tatar- Danault-Gally line. they will eat a lot of minutes together)

Hoffman -Poehling - Anderson

I think Poehling will make his place in Camp - he is more offensivly dinamic than Evans and Paquette... which is important if you want to play with Hoffman and Anderson. They will play some very specialized minutes together - mostly offensive missions. Pucks in deep... and pass to hoffman, the trailer.

Lekhonen-Evans -Armia

High energy and forecheck line. They will be playing almost always from our own end for faceoffs. Will play big defensive mission each game


Edmundson-Petry

Chiarot -Savard

Romanov - Norlinder

I believe we will see a similar rotation of the top 4 like the playoffs. Romanov and Norlinder will rarely play together - they will replace one of Savard, Chariot, or Edmundson when we are taking faceoffs in the o-zone. They will play all PP. They are good with puck possession, which is the main driver of DD`s system.

i think a signing like this rides on poehling... are the habs ready give him a shot on opening night?

interesting, i was thinking the same but with savard instead of chiarot.
Maybe keep Edmundson-Petry together and then have a balanced 2nd and 3rd pairs. I also have NO idea what to expect with Wideman

I think people honestly forget that Drouin was 2nd on the habs in points before leaving. He can make plays, and Caufield and Suzuki can both put the puck in the net.

also, i love Lehkonen so I’m going to pretend like I didn’t read your potential trade scenario

Love you justification for each line. I think this has a good chance of being similar to opening night.

On the other hand, with all due respect, I honestly don’t think Norlinder will make the team out of camp. I hope I’m wrong because I think he’s a special player, but I just don’t see a scenario where he makes the jump this year, skipping the possibility of an AHL stint