from Jack Todd at the Montreal Gazette,

The diagnosis is pretty simple. The Canadiens miss their heavyweights.

Read ‘em and weep: Shea Weber , Corey Perry , Phillip Danault , Carey Price .

Weber and Price are missing through no fault of the management. Price will be back. Weber probably won’t. But Danault and Perry could have been retained — and from what we have seen so far, both should have been signed.

Without those four, the Canadiens have a team with talent but without direction, without an identity, without a sense of itself.

Surprising? It shouldn’t be. The ferocious penalty kill that was such a critical factor in the run to the Stanley Cup final has been almost completely gutted, beginning with Danault’s absence at centre ice .

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