Of the many contributing factors to last season's demise of the Montreal Canadiens, none may have played a more crucial role than the shortcomings of 2nd, and 3rd year players, even 4th year players -- reasonable cap hits who failed to play reasonable hockey.

To name a few, Christopher Higgins started the year injured and never caught his balance thereafter. Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn were as mercurial as any, proving they belonged in the top tier of the lineup in '07-08, and then failing miserably in '08-09. I don't think anyone in Montreal could explain what happened to Tomas Plekanec last season. And then there was Carey Price, who provided the greatest shock for Canadiens fans with his collapse post-All-Star weekend.

But two players played extremely well last season given minimal expectations compared to those named above, and if it wasn't for them the team might not have even marginally slipped into the post-season the way they did.

Maxim Lapierre matured tremendously last season. As it was apparent to each and every spectator, it was apparent to his coaches as well, who gave Lapierre a lot more responsibility, in both offensive and defensive situations, and on the odd occasion...even in the shootout.

Lapierre entered last year's training camp battling for a position with Kyle Chipchura. Winning faceoffs was to be a determining factor in who would be centering the fourth line for the Canadiens. At the time, it was assumed Robert Lang, Tomas Plekanec, and Saku Koivu were going to give the Canadiens an edge down the middle that was missing from a very successful campaign in '07-08. But after Lang bowed out from what was looking like a great season, and Plekanec was unable to get his play to a respectable level, more was expected from Lapierre-- and he delivered.

Though he finished 22nd in the league (Saku Koivu 15th) last season, winning 53.2% of his draws, he spent the majority of the year in the top 10. There were times when he ranked in the top 5. To give you an idea of how great an improvement that was, Lapierre doesn't even rank in the faceoff stats for '07-08; out of 86 players on the list his name isn't found among Tomas Plekanec's, Robert Lang's, and Saku Koivu's.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about Lapierre's maturation were his offensive skills last season. He scored 15 goals, and finished as a +9-- on a team that let in nearly as many goals as they scored last year (242 for, 240 against).

And what about Guillaume Latendresse? For two seasons, Latendresse scored under his potential, given his size and his natural ability to put the puck in the net; finishing an 80-game rookie campaign with 16 goals at -20, and a sophomore campaign that saw him net 16 again, this time in 73 games at -2.

Last season Guillaume found his stride next to Max Lapierre, and the two had such great energy and chemistry that had it not been for his injury, Latendresse likely would've scored more than 20 goals. He had 14 in 56 games, and managed a +4. All of this without much powerplay time...

So while other sophomores, and 3rd-year players put a major dent in the Canadiens hopes last season, Lapierre and Latendresse opened everyone's eyes to their potential.

And now that both players have brought on heavier expectations this year, do they have the type of character, the talent, and will they get the opportunity, to live up to them?

Or will they join a list of players who struggled mightily after great seasons, and the onslaught of high expectations that followed?

These are questions that have somewhat drifted to the background after Bob Gainey cleansed the Montreal Canadiens, and rebuilt their leadership from coach-to-6th defenseman. The answer to these questions will have a significant impact on how well the Canadiens fare this season.

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