Before our recent moves, it was a good bet that Kostitsyn would make the team out of camp this year. However, there now is not much room for him.
Higgins - Koivu - Ryder
Samsonov - Ribeiro - Kovalev
Perezhogin - Plekanec - Johnson
Murray - Bonk - Begin
Barring a trade, the only player that Kostitsyn can realistically beat out for a job in camp is Perezhogin. Alexander will have the upper hand, having spent nearly all of last year with the Habs, and looking good in the post-season, so it will take something really really special for Andrei to pass him in the depth charts during camp.
Other rookies have an easier job ahead of them to make the team, but it is not to say they are "better" or "more ready" than Kostitsyn. Chipchura and Lapierre will be trying to show they deserve a spot more than Radek Bonk, while Grabovski will hope to dazzle enough to replace Mike Ribeiro. It all comes down to what spot up front a player is most suited for.
I guess we'll have to see come training camp. Could make for some very difficult decisions, and could force a trade or 2.