The Montreal Canadiens are a team on the rise, and a big reason for it is their strong defensive depth. They only improved it this off-season, too, as they acquired Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders.
When looking at the Canadiens' defensemen, it is clear that they have a ton of options to work with. Thus, there will be plenty of competition at training camp once it begins.
Recently, the NHL's official Facebook account shared their defense projections for the Canadiens, and they went with some interesting pairings.
For the Canadiens' first pairing, the NHL's account predicted that Kaiden Guhle will play on the left side, while Lane Hutson would play on the right. This pairing would make sense, as Guhle's strong defensive play would give Hutson the freedom to take plenty of chances offensively. They also have experience playing together.
For the Habs' second pairing, the NHL's account sees Mike Matheson playing alongside Noah Dobson. Having a star like Dobson playing on the second pairing would certainly spread out the Canadiens' depth on the blueline, and Matheson could work well playing with him.
As for the Canadiens' third pairing, the NHL's account has Arber Xhekaj playing with Alexandre Carrier. With Carrier being a dependable defensive defenseman, Xhekaj could benefit playing with him as he continues to work on his development.
If this ends up being the Canadiens' defensive group on opening night, Jayden Struble would be the odd man out. With this, it is apparent that the Canadiens have plenty of solid defensemen to work with.
Nevertheless, it will be intriguing to see what their blueline ends up looking like once the season is officially here.
Canadiens Star Lands Top 10 Rating In NHL 26Earlier this off-season, the Montreal Canadiens made a big splash when they acquired Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. They then quickly signed him to an eight-year, $76 million contract extension. With this, he is expected to be a major part of the Canadiens' blueline moving forward.
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