Joe Drouin out of the Canadiens' lineup to start the season? A possibility, according to an analyst
As the Montreal Canadiens training camp is now officially underway, we are starting to see trios and combinations being formed.
It will be really interesting to see the outcome, to see the final four trios form at the end of camp, and to see the official lineup for the first game of the season.
In the meantime, several analysts are getting wet and revealing their prediction of the lineup for this first game of the new campaign.
On TVA Sports, analyst Alexandre Picard revealed the Montreal Canadiens' likely lineup to start the 2022-2023 season.
See the result :
Kirby Dach - Nick Suzuki - Cole Caufield
Evgeny Dadonov - Christian Dvorak - Josh Anderson
Juraj Slafkovsky - Sean Monahan - Brendan Gallagher
Mike Hoffman - Jake Evans - Joel Armia
Extras: Rem Pitlick - Michael Pezzetta - Jonathan Drouin
There are several interesting things to note here, including Dach being placed on the CH's first trio by Picard alongside Suzuki and Caufield.
This could be very interesting for his offensive production, but not ideal for his future as an NHL center.
Let's also note the presence of young Slafkovsky, alongside Monahan and Gallagher, an interesting trio.
Also, Picard surprisingly puts Jonathan Drouin on the "fifth line", so out of the regular lineup and in the stands.
It's not unanimous, but it must be said that this is the reality of the Montreal Canadiens in 2022.
There's a pretty impressive surplus of forwards, and for that reason, some surprising names will be taken out of the lineup if there's no trade by the start of the season. They won't all be able to play at the same time.
Do you like Picard's proposal? What do you think will be the CH's starting lineup for the upcoming season?
| POLL | ||
Which one do you think is most at risk of being a "healthy scratch" to start the season? | ||
| Mike Hoffman | 64 | 29 % |
| Jonathan Drouin | 85 | 38.5 % |
| Evgeny Dadonov | 20 | 9 % |
| Joel Armia | 52 | 23.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
