The Montreal Canadiens season ended Thursday night with a loss to the New York Rangers and now it’s time to look ahead to a major offseason for the team. After finishing 15th in the Eastern Conference only two years ago, making the conference finals is a major milestone for the team. But many of the core players face important contract decisions this summer and how General Manager Marc Bergevin approaches those situations will have a big effect on the team moving forward.

“Some players had more trouble in the regular season, but stepped up in the postseason. The opposite for others, but overall I am very happy with how our players performed this season,” Bergevin said. “Our team is not mature yet, like a Chicago or a Los Angeles. We still have lots of work to do in terms of building through the draft and developing our young players, but we are well on track.”

Goaltending would seem set for Montreal, with Carey Price coming off a career year, but there will need to be a decision made on who starts as backup next season. Price missed the Rangers series but Head Coach Michel Therrien said he would probably have played in the Stanley Cup final. In place of Price, third string goalie Dustin Tokarski jumped in and stood on his head. His play in those five games should have earned him a spot on the team next year but it’s not guaranteed just yet.

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