Canadiens captian Saku Koivu is still recovering from a serious eye injury. (Phllip MacCallum/Getty Images)

2005-06 Record: 42-31-9, 7th in Eastern Conference (Eliminated by Carolina in the first round).

Arrivals: LW Sergei Samsonov, LW Mike Johnson, D Dan Jancevski.

Departures: LW Jan Bulis, LW Raitis Ivanans, RW/LW Nicklas Sundstrom, LW Peter Vandermeer, RW/LW Richard Zednik.

Offence: The Canadiens' painful first-round exit to the Carolina Hurricanes last season reaffirmed the team's offensive shortcomings. Heading into the post-season, Montreal only scored 243 goals, the third fewest total among the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs. While Michael Ryder led the Canadians with 30 goals, only three other players – Alexei Kovalev, Jan Bulis and Chris Higgins – scored 20 or more times. The Canadiens hope the addition of speedy winger Sergie Samsonov, who will start the season on the top line with Kovalev and centre Mike Ribeiro, can boost their sagging offence. The biggest concern surrounding the Canadiens is the health of captain Saku Koivu. The injury-riddled centre suffered a serious eye injury against Carolina in the post-season and expressed trepidation recently over his slightly reduced peripheral vision.

Defence: This unit was easily the team's strength last year and should remain solid. In Andrei Markov, Sheldon Souray, Craig Rivet and Mike Komisarek, the Canadiens have four reliable defenceman who can play at both ends of the ice. Markov emerged as the team's best blue-liner last season, scoring 46 points despite missing 12 games, and Komisarek has developed into a strong physical presence. However, Souray's penchant for turnovers is beginning to irritate the coaching staff. It was Souray's failure to clear the puck out of his zone late in the third period of Game 3 that allowed the Hurricanes to score the tying goal. Carolina would win in overtime and take the next three games to eliminate Montreal.

Goatending: Despite the success of Cristobal Huet last season, rookie coach Guy Carbonneau isn't ready to just hand the 32-year-old goaltender the top job. Huet had an impressive .929 save percentage in Montreal's six playoff games, while only allowing nine regular-strength goals. He also posted seven shutouts during the regular season and held the highest save percentage in the league. But Huet has yet to play a full year in three NHL seasons and will have to show Carbonneau that he can handle the workload. Though Huet remains the favourite, Carbonneau won't hesitate to make a switch to David Aebischer should his top goaltender falter. The 28-year-old Aebischer was acquired just before the trade deadline last season that sent Jose Theodore to Colorado. Aebischer, who served as Patrick Roy's backup at one time, won 29 games last season and has proven to be a reliable alternative.

Coaching: Montreal general manager Bob Gainey relinquished his coaching duties to the highly regarded Carbonneau, whom many feel will emerge as a respected bench boss. In spite of Carbonneau's defensive prowess as a player, opposing teams shouldn't be fooled by the Quebec native's conservative reputation. As a junior, Carbonneau scored 134 goals in his finals two seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and knows how to implement several offensive strategies. The one advantage Carbonneau has with this Canadiens' squad is the abundance of speed the team can use to put plenty of pressure on opposing defences.

Scott Morrison's take: As sure as their playoff fate last spring turned on the loss of Koivu to injury, whatever the Canadiens accomplish this season will again largely be affected by the health of their captain and whether he is able to fully return from the horrible eye injury he suffered in the first round of the playoffs.

The Canadiens, you might recall, were on the verge of upending Carolina, leading the series 2-0, when Koivu was lost in the third game. They never won again.

Alex Kovalev is key to the Montreal Canadiens' playoffs chances, says Morrison (Canadian Press)

Koivu is back playing, of course, but still has issues with his eye. If he is lost again or a mere shadow of his former self, it will be devastating for the Habs, who didn't make many positive off-season changes to their roster.

The Habs will be solid in goal, with Huet and backup Aebischer, and on defence they are fine. Up front, they may struggle to score goals, however, and require Kovalev to be great and for youngsters such as Higgins and Ryder to continue to improve. A real key will be Samsonov and whether he can produce first-line numbers.

There are a lot of good things that need to happen for the Habs just to make the playoffs. As for the Stanley Cup, well, barring the unforeseen it will likely be 13 seasons and counting ... their longest drought between championships.