HockeyHabs need a healthy Markov and productive Gomez

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Scott Gomez, left, and Andrei Markov are looking for comebacks of a different type as Montreal tries to gain ground in the competitive East. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)

In an ideal world for the Montreal Canadiens and their faithful, they would have a healthy Andrei Markov patrolling the blue-line and a vintage Scott Gomez, the one from 2005-06, when they open the regular season on Thursday.

But with less than a week to go before Canadiens visit the Air Canada Centre to raise the curtain on the 2011-12 season against the Toronto Maple Leafs, it appears Markov will require more time before he's ready. The Russian has missed 112 regular season in the past two seasons with a lacerated ankle tendon and two knee surgeries.

When he does return and rejoin fellow defenceman Josh Gorges, who also missed most of last season with a knee injury, the Canadiens will be better off.

Gomez, however, is another matter. He is coming off the worse of his 11 NHL seasons with career lows in goals (seven), assists (31) and points (38).

Of course, it's not his fault the New York Rangers signed him to that massive seven-year, $51.5 million US free agent contract for an annual salary cap hit of $7.36 million a few summers ago. But Gomez, who is in his third year in Montreal, continues to be the highest paid Canadiens player and he still has three years remaining on his contract.

The 31-year-old Alaskan never has been a big goal scorer. If you subtract the 33 he scored for the New Jersey Devils in 2005-06, Gomez has averaged only 13 goals a season. But his annual assist average is 46.1, even with last year's anaemic total included. So he wasn't scoring nor dishing with much success last season.

Will he benefit from a healthy Max Pacioretty or the addition of Erik Cole on his wings? The Canadiens sure hope so. For his part, Gomez arrived for training camp fit and ready to restore his roar. After an early training camp lower-body ailment, he has looked good in preseason action. But his teammates and the faithful simply want to see a productive Gomez when it counts.

Coach: Jacques Martin, who's just turned 59, and notched his 600th career NHL win at the end of last season. He enters his third season behind the Canadiens bench having guided the Habs to the 2010 East final and stretched the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins to a seventh and deciding game in the first round last spring.

GM: In his three decades in the NHL, 58-year-old Pierre Gauthier has bounced from the Quebec Nordiques to the Anaheim Ducks to the Ottawa Senators back to Anaheim and then on to Montreal. He left the Nordiques organization as a scout three years before they became the Colorado Avalanche and won the Stanley Cup. He was fired as the Ducks GM a season before they went to the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2003 and he was nine seasons removed in Ottawa before the Senators advanced to the final. Will he stick around long enough to see the Canadians take the next step?

Last year: 44-30-8--96 points, 6th in the East (eliminated in first round).

Who's in: LW Erik Cole, G Peter Budaj, D Chris Campoli, D Jeff Woywitka.

Who's out: D James Wisniewski, D Roman Hamrlik, C Tom Pyatt, D Alexandre Picard, LW Benoit Pouliot, C Jeff Halpern, G Alex Auld, D Brent Sopel, D Paul Mara.

Payroll: $60.9 million (11th in the NHL).

Key stat: The Canadiens power play has been one of the best since the lockout, beginning with the fifth-best efficiency rate in 2005-06, followed by back-to-back firsts, a 13th, a second and a seventh-place showing last season.

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