Montreal Candiens: 4 Stories to Watch While Habs Are Locked Out

The Montreal Canadiens had one of the worst years in franchise history in 2011-12, which led to many changes this offseason.

General manager Pierre Gauthier was fired and eventually replaced by first-time general manager Marc Bergevin, who eventually replaced Randy Cunneyworth with former Canadiens coach Michel Therrien

Bergevin has been on a mission to improve the team to avoid another season like last year.

The Habs took Alex Galchenyuk with the third overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft. Brandon Prust, Colby Armstrong and Francis Bouillon were brought in via free agency. Meanwhile, Chris Campoli, Mathieu Darche and Brad Staubitz were allowed to leave.

Fans were excited to see what the team could do with the improvements made to the club. However, with the lockout in full swing, Montreal has been denied that chance.

While we wait for the lockout to end, here are four stories for Habs fans to follow.

Alex Galchenyuk

Montreal fans will definitely want to keep an eye on top prospect Alex Galchenyuk. If it were not for the lockout, he could very well be playing with the Habs right now.

Instead, he is back in the OHL with the Sarnia Sting.

A lot of stock will be put in how Galchenyuk plays without Nail Yakupov on his wing. So far, he's doing well for himself. In nine games this season, he has four goals and eight assists for 12 points.

Fans should definitely be excited by the prospects of seeing Galchenyuk in the Habs lineup in the near future.

The Hamilton Bulldogs

The Canadiens' AHL farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, is full of players that could be Habs as soon as the 2013-14 season.

With players such as Louis Leblanc, Blake Geoffrion, Brendan Gallagher, Jarred Tinordi and Nathan Beaulieu in the lineup, the Bulldogs truly hold the future of the Canadiens on their roster.

If the Bulldogs are in contention for the Calder Cup, the Habs brass will be anticipating at least some of them to make the jump next season.

Carey Price

If the lockout lasts all season, it will be interesting to see what happens with Carey Price.

He hasn't signed on to play overseas, so whether he can find a place to play or if he will at all is a question that will need to be answered.

He may get a chance to both play in the World Championships and be the starter in that tournament as a trial run for the 2014 Olympics, too.

Scott Gomez

This story is really only for Geoff Molson.

While he's probably not happy about the lockout, he is definitely happy that he doesn't have to pay Scott Gomez $5.5 million for the amount of production that he offers.