NHL analyst floats biggest worry about Canadiens' roster for next season after multiple exits via free agency

The Montreal Canadiens' strong penalty kill made them a potent force last year. They had the most penalty kills in the regular season with a total of 208 and were ranked in terms of percentage with 80.9% kills throughout. However, that penalty kill is expected to look a lot different this year.

The Canadiens had Jake Evans, Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak and David Savard take up most of the penalty kill time. Evans and Armia made the penalty kill more aggressive, while Dvorak and Savard held fort, and this yielded results. However, Armia and Dvorak have left the club due to free agency and David Savard headed into retirement. That has left a major gap in the lineup.

As per TSN analyst Frankie Corrado, figuring the penalty kill will be a major task for Martin St. Louis and his coaching team.

"It was a bit of an overachievement for Montreal last year. A lot of things went well for them. Their penalty kill was really good. They got better defensively as the season went on.

"They got timely goaltending and they had a good shooting percentage which helped put the puck in the net for them. Now, for things to get better, they had to add more skill into the lineup, and they’ve done that...

"The only worry I have about the Montreal Canadiens as of right now is who’s going to replace the big minutes on the penalty kill that they had last year. David Savard, Joel Armia, and Christian Dvorak all out the door. They need three prominent pieces to play penalty kill minutes because that was a big strength of their team last year." [Timestamp: 00:15 onwards]

Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle and Alexandre Carrier are some of the choices for the team. Their new recruit, Noah Dobson, played around 50 minutes for the New York Islanders, but the Isles' penalty kill was nowhere close to good. Arber Xhekaj or Jayden Strubble on the final defensive pairing could also get a penalty kill look.

NHL analyst reckons Lane Hutson should evolve into a defensive force

Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy for the Montreal Canadiens, starting in the first defensive line for the team alongside the much-experienced Mike Matheson. While in the blue line, Hutson scored 6 goals and 66 points in a very highly productive defensive season.

As per Frankie Corrado, Hutson will work on the defensive side of things and there could be some development on display.

"...And so now going into year two for him, I expect a lot of the same and maybe a little bit of growth defensively. I’m not sure how much more growth you’re going to get offensively. He really sees the game well. He knows how to draw players in and be deceptive with the puck. He’s good in his own zone at doing it. He’s good at the offensive blue line at doing it.

"He’s great in transition. There’s probably going to be a little more of a learning curve defensively because of the minutes that he’s going to play. And he’s going to do well. He’s one of those guys that just simply does well at everything he does. I would expect him to put up big numbers." [3:14 owards]

There might be a scope for Hutson to be tried on the penalty kill from time to time to check his defensive skills. However, he will be required as a major factor on the first power play unit.