MONTREAL -- With the Canadiens overhauling the left side of all three pairings on defense this season, newcomer Karl Alzner will be a key player in making the post-Andrei Markov era work.Alzner is the biggest addition in a group of new defensemen in Montreal after the Canadiens parted ways with Markov, Alexei Emelin and Nathan Beaulieu this summer.

"I'm a different guy coming in than what was here in the past so maybe it's a bit of a different look for the team from people that Rickey Henderson Jersey aren't quite used to seeing that," Alzner said after practice Thursday.

Drafted fifth overall by Washington in the first round of the 2007 NHL Draft, Alzner spent his first nine seasons with the Capitals before leaving as a free agent to sign a five-year, $23.125 million contract with Montreal on July 1.Though Markov's decision to play in Ru sia leaves a gaping hole opposite Shea Weber on the left side of the top pair, Alzner's stay-at-home style was widely perceived to make him a better candidate to play with Jeff Petry.

Karl Alzner is dancing again. This time for Montreal Canadiens social media

And that's how the Canadiens see it with the Alzner-Petry pairing remaining a constant since Oakland Athletics Jersey the beginning of training camp while Montreal has gone 0-6 so far in preseason games.

"I think it's going to be good," Alzner said. "We haven't won a game yet so everything feels maybe a little bit worse than reality, but yeah, it feels good. I've heard a lot of great things from a guy that he played with that I'm pretty tight with, so I had good things coming into it and everything's been even better than I expected, so I think we're going to be good together. We watched some video to kind of get a better sense of the reads that we're making and why we're making them, and once we get even more comfortable, then I think we could be a really good pair."

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The 29-year-old native of Burnaby, B.C.was paired with John Carlson for most of his time in Washington. Canadiens coach Claude Julien likened the adjustment that Alzner has to make in changing teams for the first time at this stage of his careerto what Weber experienced last season after he was acquired from Nashville.

"He's started to figure things out and he's a smart player so I like the direction he's going," Julien said. "We know he's going to a solid defenseman for us and we're relying on him to be a solid defenseman, so I like the progre s he's made in the last week and a half so far. I think he's made some Blake Treinen Jersey huge steps so we're looking forward to him being totally comfortable."

In making the move to the Canadiens, Alzner sought the advice of former teammates Matt Niskanen and T.J. Oshie about adjusting to a new team. He also spoke to some of his former coaches, who told Chris Bassitt Jersey him to be himself, to avoid trying too hard to fit in both on and off the ice, and let things come to him.

"That was some of the better advice I got, just to relax, settle down, and let it come to you," Alzner said. "And I've had the same advice too on the ice from the coaches. One of the things they said with the system, 'let it come to you,' so that's kind of funny how it works both on and off the ice."

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Alzner appreciated right wing Andrew Shaw inviting him over Josh Phegley Jersey to his house to watch football soon after he arrived. He's looking forward to going on the road to bond further with his new teammates, but he likes what he's hearing so far.

"You know it's funny we were on our stretch before we got on the ice and hearing all the guys, whether it's funny little chirps to me or saying stuff to me," Alzner said. "Matt Bradley said it to me right at the beginning of my career, he was chirping me up a fair bit and he said, 'Hey, I wouldn't chirp you if I didn't like you.' And from that day on I like to think that way, so it feels like guys are accepting me right away, which is nice."