Montreal Canadiens: From pretender to contender

(Photo credit: Lisa Gansky)

Last season Montreal managed to finish first in the Atlantic division before falling short against New York Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs. Fans of the club were hoping that the team could bounce back from that early exit with a strong campaign this time around.

However, it became obvious by around November that this was a flawed team who would not be competing for anything more than a lottery place in the NHL. 

If I was the GM of the Canadiens, this is what I would do to get them back to being contenders.