Montreal Canadiens' 4 Burning Questions for 2022-23

The Montreal Canadiens have many questions regarding players and their lineup. Training camp is just weeks away. Here are the five most pressing questions going into the start of the season.

Juraj Slafkovsky was the Montreal Canadiens' first overall draft pick from this summer's Entry Draft. Slifkovsky helped his country to a bronze medal at the Olympics and was their top player at World Championship. He is not used to playing on North American ice. His best bet is to start in the NHL on the third line and work his way up to the first line. He will be there sooner than later.

Montreal Canadiens have a lot of good defencemen, but they are mainly left-handed. They have David Savard, Chris Wideman and Justin Barron on the right side of the defence. Barron is a big question mark to make the team. Corey Scheunemann, Joel Edmundson and Mike Matheson can play the left side. Montreal has more than enough assets to trade for a right-hand defenceman.

The Montreal Canadiens have 16 forwards on their roster. They have a couple of players on injured reserve. The team has four unrestricted free agents whose contracts expire at the end of the season. Mike Hoffman, Joel Armia, and Christian Dvorak could be traded before Christmas.   The Habs have some young forwards in Laval that are close to making the jump to the NHL. It's possible one of them could get traded.

Carey Price is out for the season and possibly the rest of his career. Jake Allen is a UFA at the end of the current season. Samuel Montembault and Cayden Primeau are the only signed goalies in the system. The Canadiens are in a transition period. Allen's current contract is $2.85 million per season, but he could be offered a bigger contract. The team is in talks with Allen. He could sign a short-term deal to hold the team over until one of their prospects is ready. If not, he will be traded at some point this season for assets.