Montreal Canadiens 2021 Predictions, Team Odds and Season Preview
After an energizing off-season that coach Claude Julien said has given them “a little bit of everything”, the Montreal Canadiens jumped to +1600 on the NHL futures board, to win Canada’s first title since 1993.
Despite the shortened off-season, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin was busy bolstering Montreal’s goaltending depth and also added four different Stanley Cup winning veterans to the roster. With the window closing on franchise goalie Carey Price’s peak years, the Canadiens are clearly going all in to win their 25th Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Montreal Canadiens 2021 NHL Odds
After squeaking into the playoffs as the team with the lowest point percentage (.500) to make the NHL bubble, Montreal’s busy off-season is getting them some love on the NHL futures board. Their season point total over/under of 66.5, only trails Toronto for the highest of the Canadian teams, and they’re pegged at +423 to win the new North Division of Canadian teams.
Although Carey Price is priced at +4300 win the Hart Trophy, the addition of Jake Allen to help carry the load has Price’s Vezina Trophy odds at +800, only behind Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevsky.
Montreal Canadiens 2019-20 Season
Record: 31-31-9 (71 points in 71 games); Fifth place in Atlantic Division; Lost in First Round, 2-4 (Flyers)
Leading Scorers: Tomas Tatar (61 points); Tomas Tatar (22 goals), Brendan Gallagher (22 goals)
The NHL bubble saved the Montreal Canadiens season, where they slid in with the lowest point percentage (.500) of the 24 teams in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers. It took four games for the Canadiens to upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the best-of-five qualifiers, before they made it to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first round, where they eventually fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in the best-of-seven series.
Montreal clearly took a step forward, last year. Rookie Nick Suzuki’s 13 goals and 41 points was good enough for sixth in the rookie scoring race (and he added seven points in 10 playoff games), Tomas Tatar put up career high’s in assists (39) and points (61) and Jeff Petry was on pace to set career highs in goals, assists and points before the season ended. The group as a whole improved in 2019-20 and it’s safe to say Montreal has officially left the rebuilding phase.
Habs Trades / Acquisitions
Marc Bergevin isn’t afraid to make big moves and he proved it by shipping out fan favourite Max Domi and trading for Josh Anderson (F), Joel Edmundson (D) and Jake Allen (G), before signing all three to contract extensions, as well as extending Jeff Petry and Brendan Gallagher. The Habs will have some new veteran leadership with the signing of Stanley Cup winners Tyler Toffoli, Michael Frolik and Corey Perry. Not only does Montreal now have a core of players with Stanley Cup experience, at an average age of 27.1 years, the Canadiens are actually the fourth youngest team in the NHL.
Players to Watch
Carey Price: At 33-years-old and entering his 14th NHL season, Price can expect some much-needed rest. Over the last two seasons he’s had 122 starts and played 124 games, the highest numbers in a league that increasingly relies on goalie tandems. Price started 58 of Montreal’s 71 regular season games last year, but the addition of Jake Allen brings an established veteran that can give Price more quality starts. Price is a lofty +4300 to win the Hart Trophy, but at +800 to win the Vezina Trophy, it’s tempting to bank on Price having the best season of his career.
Shea Weber: It’s tough to get a grasp on Weber’s production over the past few seasons. Between injury problems and the COVID-19 pandemic, he hasn’t played a full season since 2016-17 -his first in Montreal – but when he’s in the lineup he has been consistent. He had 15 goals and 36 points in the regular season last year, which was on pace for his career average, and he added five points in 10 playoff games. Weber is +2,500 on the futures board to win the Norris Trophy, but he could be a sleeper pick. He’s fully healthy, has had a longer off-season of rest than a lot of players and is on a team that should challenge for the North Division title.
Nick Suzuki: Cracking the opening night roster as a 20-year-old, Suzuki managed to play in all 71 regular season games and 10 playoff games for Montreal last year. It was a solid debut season for the first year player, who finished sixth in the rookie scoring race with 13 goals and 41 points. Suzuki, however, managed to take an even bigger step forward in the playoffs, tying Jonathan Drouin for the team lead in points with seven and leading the team with four goals. With a full season under his belt and likely to be put into bigger game situations, Suzuki is poised to be one of the better offensive players on this team.
Best Bets
It might be wise to stay away from the over with Montreal as they were 20th in average goals per game last year, and they are a defensive-minded team that doesn’t give up a lot of goals. Montreal was just 31-40 on the puckline spread, last year, one of the worst marks in the NH, while they went 7-29 as the favourite and 24-11 as the underdog.
Montreal Canadiens 2021 Season Prediction
Being grouped into the all-Canadian North Division and getting away from Atlantic Division teams like Boston and Tampa Bay will only help Montreal. Carey Price finally has a proven, Stanley Cup winning partner to rely on and with the added rest and quality starts he will get he should have one of the best seasons of his career.
It’s time for the young stars to grow into their potential. Centers Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi are ready to step into the spotlight and a veteran core of Stanley Cup winners is there to provide guidance. They’re sitting at -233 to make the playoffs, but barring a disastrous turn of events they should be a playoff team and have a great chance to win a round or two.