Carey Price won the Hart, Vezina, Ted Lindsay and William Jennings trophies last season. (Photo credit: © Bridget Samuels)
Yahoo! Sports Puck Daddy is doing a great job producing NHL season previews of all 30 teams.
We thought we’d paraphrase a bit of what they had to say about the Canadian squads and apply it to the NHL betting odds to see if there’s any value out there on any of our favourite teams.
For the full Montreal Canadiens season preview, you can read the Puck Daddy article here.
Better or Worse?
The Habs racked up 50 wins, 110 points and a second-round playoff appearance in 2014-15. Much of the off-season was spent rewarding current players for their performances with increased salaries, rather than upgrading talent. Montreal did sign Alexander Semin to a one-year, $1.1 million contract, hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.
The Canadiens’ season wins total has been set at 43.5 at Pinnacle Sports.
Players To Watch
Puck Daddy lists Carey Price and PK Subban among the five most interesting players on the Canadiens this season.
Price won the Vezina, Hart and Ted Lindsay trophies last year and also shared the William Jennings, so the only question with him is if he can come close to matching that 44-16-6 record and 1.93 GAA in 2014-15.
Subban ranked second on the team in points a year ago and earned his second Norris Trophy nomination. He’s already won the award once before and at 26 years old may just be entering into his prime.
We’re keeping our eyes open for Hart Trophy betting odds, Vezina Trophy betting odds and Norris Trophy odds.
Coaching
According to Puck Daddy, Michel Therrien is in a bit of hot water to start the season. GM Marc Bergevin backed him up publicly, but there’s been plenty of media criticism of the Habs coach. Speculation remains that he could be gone if Montreal hits a cold streak early in the season.
Some sportsbooks offer betting odds on which coach might be fired soon. Therrien is worth a look, for sure.
Best Case Scenario
Any Montreal success is dependent on Price. If he can match last year’s incredible form, they can easily win the Atlantic Division and be a tough out in the playoffs.
Montreal pays +240 to win the Atlantic Division at Bodog, ranked behind only the Tampa Bay Lightning (+215).
Worst Case Scenario
Two things can turn the Habs’ season south in a hurry. The first is if Montreal’s players tune out Therrien and dig themselves a big early-season hole. The second is if Price gets hurt for any significant period of time at all.
The Canadiens are fourth on the Eastern Conference betting odds at Bodog, paying +750 to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Prediction
There’s a lot of pressure on Montreal to perform this year, especially with the team already so close to the salary cap.
The Habs are certainly capable of living up to the hype, but Price will likely burn out towards the end of the year, spelling doom for Montreal’s Cup hopes.
Sports Interaction lists the Canadiens as +1000 (10:1) on the Stanley Cup betting odds.
