It's That Time Of Year

This is the time of year that I truly begin to get excited ... Training Camp.  With training camp only days away my sense of excitement sets in as I ponder ... "Is this the team to bring Montreal its 25th Stanley Cup?"  After such a great 07/08 campaign, can this re-tooled roster go the distance?  Only time will tell.

The additions of Tanguay, Laraque and Lang have addressed the teams need for toughness, size and scoring.  The Montreal Canadiens now have a solid four line team, with three of them able to score at anytime.  In what can be a long season Montreal also will have good depth players to spot fill or to fill in case of a more serious injury.  Here's how I see the lines stacking up come opening day:

          Forward Lines

          A. Kostitsyn, Plekanec, Kovalev

          Tanguay, Koivu, Higgins

          S. Kostitsyn, Lang, Latendresse

          Laraque, Begin, Kostopolus

          Defensive Pairings

            Komiserek, Markov

          Hamrlik, Boullion

          Gorges, O'Byrne

          Goalies

          Price

          Halak

          Bench

           Brisebois, Lapierre, Dandenault

However the lines shake out by the start of the 08-09 season, I'm confident that Bob Gainey has put together the roster needed to take Montreal deep into the playoffs and maybe even to the Stanley Cup in this their 100th anniversary year.