Inside look at Montreal Canadiens

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 8-Sept. 8. Today, the Montreal Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens are rebuilding with new blood throughout the organization, including
Juraj Slafkovsky
, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, with the hope of constructing an annual Stanley Cup contender.
"I always wanted to play somewhere where they love hockey and I think I'm probably in the best spot in the world for that," Slafkovsky said at development camp July 11.
Slafkovsky will look to join forwards Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield in the vanguard of the Canadiens' youth movement, a roster shift that is more pronounced with 35-year-old goalie Carey Price not expected to be able to play because of complications in recovering fully from surgery on his right knee in July 2021.
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Montreal missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season after a stunning run to the Cup Final in 2021. The Canadiens (22-49-11) finished eighth in the Atlantic Division, ranking at or near the bottom of the NHL in each major category -- goals (218, 27th), goals against (317, 32nd), power play (13.7 percent, 31st) and penalty kill (75.6 percent, 27th).
Aside from Price, gone from the team that came within three wins of Montreal's first championship since 1993 are defensemen
Shea Weber
and Jeff Petry, general manager Marc Bergevin, and coach Dominique Ducharme, who was fired Feb. 9 after the Canadiens went 8-30-7 through their first 45 games last season.
Jeff Gorton was hired as executive vice president of hockey operations after Bergevin was let go, and he brought in Kent Hughes as GM.
Despite a lack of any professional coaching experience, Hall of Fame forward Martin St. Louis was hired to replace Ducharme. The Canadiens went 14-19-4 under St. Louis, who signed a three-year contract to remain coach June 1.
"You just know him as the player that he was and how competitive he was," defenseman Mike Matheson said. "He overcame so much adversity. There were people telling him that he'd never make it, and he kept persevering. You could tell once he got hired by the Canadiens that there was just so much respect from his players that he commanded instantly because of his reputation, and he was obviously able to follow that up through his coaching style.
"I obviously haven't been in the locker room with him, but it just seems like he's the type of guy that his players want to play for, and he'll make you want to run through a brick wall for him. And that sounds very cliche but those are important aspects of a coach, having the respect of a locker room."

The Canadiens had Bell Centre buzzing at the draft by selecting Slafkovsky (6-foot-3, 218 pounds) as the No. 1 pick before engineering a series of trades to acquire 21-year-old center Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks.
"I think it will be good for me to kind of have a fresh start and be the player I know I can be," Dach said. "I feel like I'm pretty offensive and smart with the puck and can make plays, but also a reliable two-way centerman that's big and strong down the middle of the ice that skates well and can make plays. And I feel like Montreal is a place where I can flourish with that.
"I've talked to a few of the guys and they love Marty as the coach, and I feel like he and I are going to get along good and he's going to really help me bring out my best skill assets and become a dominant player."
Promising young defenseman Alexander Romanov was traded to the New York Islanders for Dach, and Petry and forward Ryan Poehling were traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Matheson.
"One way or the other we felt we needed to have an experienced defenseman that could assist us now," Hughes said. "Our guys worked pretty hard last year once Marty came on board to try to salvage the season and we feel it was important that we gave them the opportunity to take a step forward as a group this year. I don't think we're believing that we're going to go compete for a Stanley Cup, we know that, but we do want to have the ability to compete every night."
Forward Sean Monahan was acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames on Aug. 18, a move that became financially possible when it became clear that Price would have to be placed on long-term injured reserve.