Montreal Canadiens Offseason Preview, Part II: Defense

As free agency season is still open, and it's time to look towards another exciting season, let's take another look at the starting lineups for the 2008-09 version of Les Canadiens de Montreal.

As they always say, defense wins championships.

But does it?

Take a look around the NHL, and you'll see many teams stacked up on the blue line. The New York Rangers weren't too shy about spending the big bucks on the back end, acquiring Wade Redden and Dmitri Kalinin to an already strong defense—including Michael Roszival, Paul Mara, and Marc Staal among others.

The Chicago Blackhawks gained Brian Campbell to go along with Cam Barker, Brent Seabrook, and Duncan Keith.  The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings re-upped Brad Stuart to an already lethal blue line, including Nick Lidstrom, Nik Kronwall, and Brian Rafalski.

So how's it going in La Belle Province?

Let's just say we're down a D-man.

One of the most lethal defensemen on the blue line during the power play, Mark Streit walked away from the team that brought him into the NHL after a stellar season in which he notched 62 points—the most by any Swiss player.  Off to Long Island, Streit has found a new home to play only defense.

After finding Streit to fit into the hole left by the departure of Sheldon Souray last offseason, the Canadiens now have to turn to other defensemen to fill the hole that Streit has left.

Possible candidates could include workhorse Josh Gorges, big-man Ryan O'Byrne, or even the newly acquired Shawn Belle.

Whomever it is, the hope is that the Canadiens' league-leading power play does not struggle through the season after dominating with the extra man in 2007-08.  Perhaps the departure of a powerhouse defenseman to quarterback to the power play will help the Canadiens to be more concerned about scoring five-on-five—an area in which they seemed to improve this last season.

Gorges was solid down the stretch, after having some ups and downs in the first half of the season.  And he always seemed to make it onto the after-game interviews, quickly becoming a favorite of the reporters.

O'Byrne started his rookie season down in the AHL with the Hamilton Bulldogs, but with injuries to Bouillon and others down the stretch, he got his first taste of the NHL in late December. He didn't fail to impress, notching his first NHL point in his first NHL game in the sunny state of Florida.  

O'Byrne's 6'5" frame gives the Canadiens a much needed height presence on the blue line.  He also likes to throw around his 234 pounds on the back end too.

Shawn Belle has seen limited NHL action—only nine games with the Minnesota Wild in 2006-07, notching one assist.  Belle's 6'1", 235-lb. frame is another welcome addition, considering the fact the Canadiens dealt 5'9", 168-lb. Corey Locke for the big defenseman.

With Gorges, O'Byrne, and Belle all vying for the lower spots on the defensive roster, the Canadiens have always been supported by the main top-four defenseman Andrei Markov, Mike Komisarek, Roman Hamrlik, and Francis Bouillon.

After taking part in his first career NHL All-Star Game, Andrei Markov seemed to disappear in the playoffs.  Shying away from the physical play, Markov appeared to be playing injured throughout the final games of the Boston series and throughout the Flyers series.  

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?