Team MVP P.K. Subban - D It's ..."/> Team MVP P.K. Subban - D It's ..."/>
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Montreal Canadiens 2015-16 NHL Preview

By Josh Hill

May 9, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; The Montreal Canadiens celebrate their victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in game five of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
May 9, 2015; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; The Montreal Canadiens celebrate their victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in game five of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /
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Eastern Conference. Montreal Canadiens. 1. player. 152. <p class=. Atlantic

Team MVP

P.K. Subban – D

It’s hard to go against one of the best defencemen in the NHL, and Subban is right up there leading the charge. He’s the single most important player to the Habs this season, even more so than Cary Price, who is usually his reliable self when he needs to be. But outside of goaltending, which is hard enough to find, the Habs need to have skaters who can take them to the next level, and Subban is the guy they need to once again be the best player on the roster.

May 29, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) handles the puck during the second period against the New York Rangers in game six of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
May 29, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) handles the puck during the second period against the New York Rangers in game six of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

There is some pressure on Subban to go above and beyond, as he is in the middle of a new massive contact extension and is coming off one of his best seasons of his career. There are others on the roster like Max Pacioretty and Tomáš Plekanec who are crucially important, but all eyes will once again be on Subban and how well he can help lead the Habs on another deep run in the postseason.

Best Case Scenario

While Montreal didn’t go out and make sweeping changes this offseason, they did manage to keep mostly all of last year’s Conference Finals them intact. They lost Brandon Prust in a trade with the Canucks, but they added a young talent in Zack Kassian who will only help keep this team fresh.

Michel Therrien’s team has the ability to be as dominant as it has the ability to fall short and do themselves in, which is what we saw them do against the Lightning in the Conference Finals last year. But the pieces are in place for the Habs to finally get over the hump and make it back to the Stanley Cup. When you look at the East, there’s really no one outside of either of the New York teams and possibly Tampa Bay (again) that stands in the way of Montreal staking claim and going on a tear in the postseason.

Worst Case Scenario

Outside of missing the playoffs — which would be catastrophic — it’s hard to see the Habs having a worse case scenario that doesn’t involve missing the Stanley Cup. They have everything going for them to make it to the Final, and if they miss out and get bounced in the Conference Finals again it’s going to get ugly in Quebec.

There are bad scenarios for the Canadiens, but the ultimate worst case scenario at this point has the Habs failing to reach the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight year when they’ve made it so close to many times.

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