Here are the possible Montreal Canadiens defense pairings to start the 2022-23 season

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Jeff Drouin
March 24, 2022 (4:09 PM)

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Earlier this week, in the afternoon, we were treated to an interesting question and answer session between fans and Montreal Canadiens executives (Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton) the day after the NHL trade deadline.

All hosted by the excellent Chantal Machabée.

The field hockey men were asked about their surprise of the year with the Habs and Hughes compared Nick Suzuki to one of the greats of his profession:

Another interesting question from a fan: "Which prospects have a good chance of breaking into the Habs lineup next season?"

One player was immediately targeted by Hughes and Gorton: Kaiden Guhle. In fact, the Habs' new GM summed up his plan for rookies perfectly, as Max Truman of Danslescoulisses.com reports:

"We're not going to force players into situations they're not ready for, but at the same time, we're not going to restrict players if they show they're ready for it." - Kent Hughes

They called the young Guhle a very good skater, a tough player and there was even a favorable comparison to a certain Ben Chiarot. Basically, it seems to be understood that Kaiden Guhle has a good chance of breaking into the Montreal Canadiens' 2022-23 lineup.

Considering also that Hughes confirmed that Justin Barron would have a chance with the big club as soon as this season, and considering that Jordan Harris is expected to sign in Montreal eventually (and play for the Habs), we now have a good idea of the likely picture of the CH's 2022-23 defensive brigade, and it's promising.

Prediction:

Joel Edmundson - Kris Letang

Alexander Romanov - David Savard

Kaiden Guhle - Justin Barron

Jordan Harris

Would you feel confident starting the season with a similar defense? Why Letang instead of Petry?

Because everyone knows that Petry wants to leave Montreal (even Kent Hughes is now talking about it publicly), so I consider the chances of seeing him again in the fall to be slim.

Why Letang? Because with some obvious calculations, everything indicates that the Penguins will not be able to keep him and if he leaves Pittsburgh, it seems obvious that his plan B is Montreal.

But this is just a prediction. What would be your prediction of the 2022-23 Tricolore defense?