The CH may have just revealed its official lineup for the first game of the season, and there is a nice surprise

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Jeff Drouin
October 1, 2022 (5:31 PM)

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There is a lot of talk about the current training camp for the Montreal Canadiens, and with good reason, but the regular season is approaching very quickly, and we can really start to detect clues about the intentions of the organization and head coach Martin St-Louis.

The season starts in about 10 days, and the real preparation has begun.

That said, as many keen observers have noted, it looks like the organization may have just revealed its official lineup for the first game of the season. In any case, it would make sense.

Check out the combinations announced in the last few hours:

Caufield - Suzuki - Anderson

Dadonov - Dvorak - Gallagher (this one seems to be really set in stone)

Drouin - Monahan - Armia

Pitlick - Evans - Heineman

This would mean that Emil Heineman is the real wild card here, and he could possibly start the season in Montreal. That would really be a nice surprise.

Another trio that wasn't there yesterday, but obviously will be, is this one:

Slafkovsky - Dach - Hoffman

So that's five combinations, five trios (and four will be used to start the season).

The way Martin St-Louis has been talking about it for the past few days, it's not surprising to see Heineman on a trio with regulars, but it would still be quite a surprise to see him start the season in Montreal, because at the beginning of camp, no one would have predicted that.

But even if he has a solid camp, it's far from settled for Heineman, because of the depth of the club (it could depend on his performance in the next ten days). Jeff Gorton mentioned that they will not hesitate to release veterans if youngsters force their way into the lineup, but let's wait and see.

Still, it's interesting to see that Heineman seems to be ahead of the other youngsters (aside from Slafkovsky).

Every year there is that one player that surprises everyone and makes the club, well in 2022 it could possibly be Emil Heineman.

If these are indeed the trios to start the season, do you like it? Which one of these five trios do you think will get the nod?

It seems to be Pitlick-Evans-Heineman, but today's game could also confuse the issue.

Again, it's pretty amazing how much depth there is on offense, and a lot of things are in flux (and can still change), but the picture seems to be getting clearer.