Canadiens Stocks: Gallagher, Hutson, and Special Teams Value

– We won’t delve into special team statistics, as we’re dealing with very limited sample sizes, and the efficiency percentages will vary wildly in the next few weeks, but it must be said that the team’s powerplay and penalty kill has done a much better job when it comes to keeping the Canadiens in the game. For years, a powerplay or penalty kill equated to an instant loss of momentum for the Habs, a very difficult situation for young players on a rebuilding team that loses much more games than itWe’ll see how things hold up, but for now, the special teams are relatively healthy, with an emphasis on ‘relatively’. More accurately, they aren’t holding the team back, and that’s a nice change. The first powerplay goal of the year was particularly interesting, as the team made a few passes to Nick Suzuki in the slot prior to the goal-scoring play. This forced the Leafs defencemen to pay closer attention to Suzuki, and thus opened up a passing lane so that Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky could find Cole Caufield in a great scoring position.

– The goal was to limit the rising stocks to just three paragraphs, but there’s a lot of good to discuss since the start of the year, so we’re going to forge ahead. Samuel Montembeault hasn’t just been good, he’s arguably been the best goaltender in the NHL. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but it’s also a continuation of his excellent play in the last two seasons.

Then there’s Cole Caufield, who maintained his momentum from the end of last season to the start of this campaign, though a lot of that has to do with his shooting percentage. We saw Caufield’s floor last year, this time around we may get to see his ceiling. I’d also like to send some praise David Savard and Mike Matheson’s way. I know everyone wants to focus on the younger defencemen, and I get it, but Matheson absorbs a ridiculous amount of ice time against the opposing team’s best players, and Uncle Savard is playing an important role as a mentor for the young blue line.

On that note, Kaiden Guhle has started his ascension as the team’s best defencemen, something to be monitored once we’re approaching the midway point of the year. It’s a little more difficult for younger players to deal with an 82-game schedule, but now that Guhle has a decent amount of experience under his belt he may be able to avoid hitting a wall, as most youngsters do in the final stretch of the schedule, something we should keep in mind as we watch Emil Heineman and Oliver Kapanen begin their NHL careers in earnest.

Declining Montreal Canadiens Stocks

– It’s far from his fault, but Jayden Struble’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. He was arguably the best defenceman not named Hutson in the preseason, and as a result, he had climbed the team’s depth chart, which isn’t an easy proposal when you consider there’s a longstanding logjam on the blue line. Alex Barre-Boulet’s assignment to the AHL likely signals that Struble is ready to return to play, but it remains to be seen if he can immediately get back to playing his very efficient brand of physical hockey.

– The top line has scored goals (3-0 at 5v5), but their underlying numbers are uglier than the south end of a northbound donkey. It’s early, very early, and Suzuki is yet to find his rhythm, however, we know Slafkovsky, Suzuki, and Caufield can do a better job driving the play at 5v5.

– Joshua Roy will be back in the NHL before we know it. His assignment to the AHL was based off 40 minutes of janky preseason action, but it also had to do with the criticism Roy faced many years ago in the QMJHL. He’s supremely gifted, and yet, his style of play does not lend itself well to public scrutiny, as he’s all about anticipating the play. This means he’s rarely wasting precious energy chasing the play. When he’s not scoring, this leads to terrible optics. Finding a new gear may be in order for the 21-year-old forward.

Did we miss any Montreal Canadiens players that you feel should have been included? Make sure to let us know by adding your two cents in the comments below the article.