A projection of the Canadiens' trios has been announced, with some surprises expected in the lineup

This exercise is interesting because it already shows that the roster will have serious weaknesses in several areas - some surprises are to be expected.

The trios predicted by MHN are:

It appears that Christian Dvorak's place in the lineup may no longer be necessary, with him playing on the fourth line and as a winger.

Brendan Gallagher would find himself in a more offensive trio with Kirby Dach, and young Juraj Slafkovsky would also be used more prominently on a top-6.

Despite his 3.4 million dollar salary for another two seasons, Joel Armia would be among the extras, while the much-maligned Mike Hoffman would land on a third line. It is far from being a winning formation - though it remains to be seen if this will remain true come October when rosters are finalized.