<p>The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/montreal-canadiens/line-combinations">Montreal Canadiens</a> were one of the stories of the 2024-2025 NHL season, as the organization’s young core powered the team to a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and a regular season record of 40-31-11. </p>



<p>The Canadiens went on to fall to the top-seeded <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/washington-capitals/line-combinations">Washington Capitals</a> in the first round, but the groundwork has been laid for Montreal to restore its status as a must-watch team that is making moves toward being a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.</p>



<p>Defenseman Lane Hutson earned the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie, and first-line center Nick Suzuki eclipsed the point-per-game mark for the first time in his young career. </p>



<p>Montreal was also a big player at the NHL draft, sending two 2025 first round draft picks to the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-york-islanders/line-combinations">New York Islanders</a> to land top-pairing defenseman Noah Dobson before signing him to a long-term extension. </p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="147"></div>



<p>On Wednesday’s episode of&nbsp;<em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt61Si0tvwE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daily Faceoff LIVE</a></em>, host Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL player Colby Cohen discussed&nbsp;the ways that the Canadiens have bolstered their core this offseason despite not making a major splash on the free agent market on July 1.</p>



<p><strong>Tyler Yaremchuk</strong>: I wanted to give some love to the Montreal Canadiens. I think the work that they did, for a handful of things, like the Noah Dobson deal, I love that trade. Here’s a guy who’s established, who can carry a blue line, and he’s 25. I’m not worried about committing $9.5 million to that guy because he’s going to get better. And then Kent Hughes and company, they sat there and said, “Well we have a surplus on ‘D,’ let’s go Zach Bolduc.” Add another legitimate 20-goal guy who, again, he’s 22. Everything they did fit their age range. They got better. They didn’t sacrifice a whole bunch of future assets, and here’s the other thing I love: they didn’t make a mistake.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="165"></div>



<p><em>You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…</em></p>


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