LAST SEASON

The 2024-25 season was all about growth for the Montreal Canadiens. But it didn’t start that way, at least. By the start of December, it all looked like one big disaster. The team was last in the Eastern Conference and 31st overall, only surpassing the Chicago Blackhawks. But, suddenly, things started to click. Between Dec. 15 and the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Canadiens were near the top in points amassed. Suddenly, the playoffs looked like a true possibility.

Montreal ultimately limped into the final spot in the East, finding themselves up against a Capitals team that had been on cruise control for the month prior. The Canadiens might have just won one game, but you can’t say they didn’t keep things tight. Between Game 1 ending in overtime, an empty-net goal needing to separate things in Game 2 and the third-period lead the Habs held in Game 4, the Canadiens kept it close from the very beginning.

Nobody expected anything more from the Habs, so making the playoffs was a huge feat on its own. What was important, though, was the breakthrough season from some of the core players. Nick Suzuki might have had a quiet playoff run, but he’s coming off a career year. The same can be said for Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield. Even Brendan Gallagher put up the best numbers since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canadiens also saw the rise of Lane Hutson, who took home the Calder Trophy after one of the best seasons by a rookie defenseman that we’ve seen in decades.

By all accounts, it was a successful year for Montreal – one that showed the rebuild is working. Now, the real challenge begins.

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Zachary Bolduc, LW
Samuel Blais, LW
Alex Belzile, RW
Joe Veleno, C
Noah Dobson, D
Nate Clurman, D
Marc Del Gaizo, D
Kaapo Kähkönen, G

Departures

Emil Heineman, RW (NYI)
Christian Dvorak, C (PHI)
Michael Pezzetta, RW (TOR)
Joel Armia, LW (LAK)
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, LW (PIT)
Alex Barre-Boulet, LW (COL)
Logan Mailloux, D (STL)
David Savard, D (Ret.)
Cayden Primeau, G (CAR)

OFFENSE

When the Canadiens flew up the standings in the second half of 2024-25, it was mostly due to how they shut teams down. From Jan. 1 onwards, the Canadiens scored just 2.91 goals per game – placing them 19th out of 32 teams. Only two playoff teams – Minnesota and, ironically enough, Florida – scored fewer per game.

But that was always to be expected. Sure, the Canadiens probably wanted more out of Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. A full season out of Patrik Laine would have gone a long way, too. But watching Suzuki, Caufield, and Slafkovsky put up personal bests was important, with that line being one of the most dangerous in the Eastern Conference.

Montreal’s offense will run through those three again – but a new bombshell has entered the villa. Ivan Demidov is ready for full-time NHL duty, and he’s going to give the Habs another highly skilled forward in the top six. The Canadiens don’t have anything else like him in the system – but more on him later.

One real wild card to watch is Laine. The 27-year-old has had a rough few years, but he’s capable of 50 points if he plays a full year. The issue? He hasn’t played more than 68 games since 2018-19, his third season in the NHL. Laine is in the final year of his contract, and if all goes well, the Canadiens could elect to keep him around – albeit at a lower cap hit than the $8.7 million he’s making. He’s valuable on the power play, but they need him to figure out his 5-on-5 game, at the very least. Pencil Laine in for at least 20 goals, but maybe he can return to the 30-goal territory for the first time in over half a decade.

Beyond that, the Canadiens have some decent bottom-six candidates. Jake Evans had a great season last year and established himself as a vital part of the team’s depth. Both of his primary linemates from last year – Joel Armia and Emil Heineman – are gone, but look for him to line up with Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher (both of whom are coming off solid seasons). I like the versatility that Oliver Kapanen should provide on the wing, and, maybe, Alex Newhook can find his game as Montreal’s No. 3 center.

The main new face up front is Zachary Bolduc, whom the team acquired in the deal that sent Logan Mailloux to St. Louis. The Trois-Rivières, Quebec native had a solid 36 points in his first full NHL season last year, and 45-plus points seems like a realistic goal in Montreal. He battles hard and has a good shot, so look for him to pot 20 this year.

Montreal’s forward group is stronger than it was a year ago. Will it lead to serious improvement? We’ll see. But on paper, there’s a lot to like – beyond maybe wanting a better option as a No. 2 C.

DEFENSE

Montreal had a relatively young defense core last season, so it was understandable to see them sit in the bottom 10 in goals against per game (3.18, 22nd) and shots against per game (29.0, 23rd). But adding Alexandre Carrier before Christmas definitely seemed to help, and with the whole group running at full strength, they allowed just the fourth-fewest shots against at 26.0 from Jan. 1 onwards. The Canadiens were one of the best teams in the second half of the year, and their blueline finding ways to shut things down was a big reason why.

Everything seemed to revolve around Hutson last year, with the Calder Trophy winner living up to high expectations. Sure, his defensive game still needs work. But there’s no denying he’s one of the best young blueliners in the game today and deserved those Norris Trophy votes. He and Kaiden Guhle proved to be the pillars of the team last year, with Guhle focusing a bit more on his own-zone play.

Adding Noah Dobson to the fray, though, adds some extra legitimacy. He averaged over 24 minutes a night last year on Long Island, with his speed and shot prowess allowing him to exploit opponents. His game can be a bit flawed, but he’s fully capable of playing excellent hockey and should be worth the $9.5 million he’s making.

On the veteran front, but Carrier and Mike Matheson will continue to play important roles. Carrier gave the team a nice two-way punch during his 51 games with the club, while Matheson served as a mentor for some of the organization’s younger players. That’s exactly the role he’ll serve again this year, but don’t be surprised if the pending UFA is shipped off before the NHL trade deadline on March 6.

One of those young guns Matheson worked with is Jayden Struble, who’s back for his third NHL season. He has the edge over Arber Xhekaj right now, but Struble has had some consistency issues at times. GM Kent Hughes brought in Marc Del Gaizo to serve as veteran depth and could go up and down between Montreal and Laval, but he likely won’t play a whole ton. Don’t rule out some games out of David Reinbacher, either – but he’s not going to be a full-time threat by any means.

GOALTENDING

Underestimate Samuel Montembeault at your own peril. Is he on the same planet as Carey Price, skill-wise? Absolutely not. But he has consistently been one of the best analytical goaltenders in the NHL over the past three years, with a 14th-ranked 14.65 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 last year, and a third-best 30.79 at all strengths. That’s why his spot on Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off team – and a trip to the Olympic orientation camp this summer – was so well deserved. At his best, Montembeault has all the skill to be a top 10 goaltender in the NHL. He can be a bit streaky, and needed Jakub Dobeš to swoop in at the midway point to help solidify the crease for a bit. But the highs were plentiful, and he has proven over the past few years that it’s not a fluke.

Dobeš, meanwhile, looked good in his limited starts. He went 5-0 to kick off his career before falling back to earth. Still, his play was enough for the Canadiens to move on from Cayden Primeau – once deemed the successor to Price. Dobeš was excellent in the AHL and had some shining moments with the big club. With a bit more confidence and more experience under his belt, Dobeš should be suited well for full-time duty in 2025-26.

If all else fails, the Canadiens have Kaapo Kähkönen ready to go. The Finnish goaltender was once viewed as Minnesota’s goaltender of the future and was a rare bright spot for the San Jose Sharks in 2021-22. Since then, though, his numbers have mostly been ugly and he hasn’t managed to stick in a single home over the past two years. Kähkönen will need to clear waivers to start the season, but if he goes unclaimed, he’s a decent third-string option. The Canadiens also have top goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler, but he’d be better off marinating in Laval for the season.

COACHING

Martin St-Louis is coming off his best coaching season to date, finally bringing the Canadiens to the postseason. It was far from a perfect season – and, at one point, many wondered if he was the right man for the job. But he righted the ship quickly enough in the second half to get the most out of just about everyone. That includes bounce-back seasons from Gallagher, Anderson and Armia – all of whom made the team’s bottom six more dangerous to play against.

Now that the Habs are legit playoff threats, the pressure’s on for St-Louis. He has grown a lot alongside Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky and Co. in recent years, which was by design. It’s not easy to install a new bench boss mid-retool. St-Louis himself has been learning everything on the fly after going straight from serving as a U-13 AAA assistant coach to leading the most storied franchise in all of hockey.

The results have been slow, but St-Louis deserves a lot of credit for turning things around last year. The pressure is truly on now, though.

ROOKIES

Lane Hutson became the seventh Canadiens player to win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, and the first since Ken Dryden in 1972. The team has never had back-to-back Calder winners – but that could change next spring.

Habs fans got a small taste of what Demidov is capable of in his short NHL stint last year. He played a few games in the regular season before getting thrown into the fire in the playoffs. At the time, there wasn’t much space for Demidov. Now, he should factor into the team’s top six. The Russian winger is extremely creative, has quick hands, is good on his feet and makes smart decisions with the puck. His shot is notably deceptive in several ways; it has looked NHL-ready for a while now.

Oliver Kapanen, meanwhile, should factor into Montreal’s bottom six. He played 18 games with the Habs, registering two assists. After starting the year in Quebec, he was sent back to Europe, where he impressed with Timra IK in the top Swedish league. He’s a reliable two-way forward who battles hard, can get physical and has a nice shot release, too. He’s not going to blow you away with pure skill, but he’s versatile enough to be valuable deeper in Montreal’s lineup.

Those are the only two full-timers this year. Beyond that, you should expect to see David Reinbacher, Owen Beck and Joshua Roy skate in a few games throughout the year before potentially tackling full-time NHL jobs in 2026-27.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Will Noah Dobson be a difference-maker? Dobson earned some serious Norris Trophy love in 2023-24 after setting a career-high 70 points with the New York Islanders. But 2024-25 felt like a step down, which ultimately kept his name in the trade rumors. A return to Quebec – where he spent three years playing in the QMJHL – could bring his game back to the level many know he’s capable of. The 25-year-old will be given plenty of responsibility on Montreal’s top D pair, but he’ll likely lose out on the PP1 quarterback job to Hutson. That’s fine – let Dobson focus on everything else, and thus allowing him to thrive.

2. Sophomore slump for Lane Hutson? Hutson was the talk of the town last year, showing his high-octane, highlight-reel-induced moves could work in the NHL. But how will he fare as a sophomore? Will opponents start to read his game better? Will his defensive game take another step forward? That, in particular, is the most important element of his game to keep an eye on. He’s a rock star, and he has all the makings of a special defenseman. If Montreal is going to make another playoff run, they’ll need Hutson to keep sharp.

3. Can Kirby Dach stay healthy? The Canadiens didn’t do anything to address their center depth this summer. Like last year, Dach is expected to return as the No. 2 middleman. In theory, he’s more than capable of handling that role. But he has only played 70 games once in his career, and has just 117 games to his credit in three years with Montreal – missing 129. If Dach can stay healthy, that’s great. It’s just hard to feel confident about that right now.

PREDICTION

The Canadiens set a new standard last year – it’s playoffs or bust from here on out. Sure, they’re still young, but their top stars have a few years under their belt at this point. Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky are still the leading forces up front, and expectations for them will remain high. Adding Demidov gives the team some more legitimacy up front, and another year out of guys like Guhle and Hutson should set them up nicely on the back end.

But don’t expect the Canadiens to go deep this year. Some jumps offensively from their top players will be welcomed, as would more in-season consistency, so they don’t need to fight to the death to snag one of the final playoff spots. The Habs are still a few years away from being legitimate contenders, but making the playoffs this year would put them exactly where they need to be.

And, hey – after surprising everyone last year, don’t be surprised if they give their first round opponent some fits.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Evolving-Hockey.

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