interestingly, while I wouldn't bet on this team making the PO's, I also wouldn't be shocked for it to surprise fans and pundits alike and finish far higher in the standings than expected.
we have perhaps the least talented group of top-6/top-4 in the league, and the weakest C & D depth in the league... that's pretty clear.
but with a goalie of Price's caliber, if the team gets lucky on the injury front (as it did early in MB/MT's tenure), we have some of the ingredients for an "upstart" type season.
- gally, pleks, alzner (and weber, shaw, byron when they return) are all high work ethic/low ego vets (leadership)
- lack of established stars means open door for young players to compete for minutes (opportunity)
- peca, armia, hudon, lekhonen, sherbak, domi, danault, drouin, dlr... lots of young players all with something to prove (hunger)
if price/julien can make up for our terribly assembled & weak defensive group, maybe, just maybe, the group strikes early and rides the wave of magic that exceeding expectations in a market like Montreal can create.
for all the talk about how "hard" it is to play here, the reality is that when a team surprises, the fan energy becomes a net advantage that most other places only really experience come playoff time.
as a fan thinking short term, i'd love nothing more than to see that happen... of course, the downside would be further extending the inept current regime, but that's for another thread