The Montreal Canadiens have been making serious progress. They turned themselves into a playoff team two years ago and the progress continued last year when they finished the season with a 48-24-10 record that resulted in a tie for second place in the Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning and 106 points.
The most encouraging aspect of the season was their performance in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They did not have home-ice advantage against the Lightning in the first round or the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, yet they were still victorious against both teams by winning consecutive seventh games on the road â thanks to Alex Newhook.
The second line left wing scored the winner late in the third period against Tampa Bay and did the same in overtime against Buffalo. They fell short against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Habs were not as far away as a 5-game defeat in that series indicates. They won the first game of the series before losing the next two in overtime. The Habs could have taken a 3-0 lead in that series.
The prospects going into the 2026-27 season come without limitations. The most successful franchise in NHL history with 23 Stanley Cups could be in a position to win the time for the first time since 1993. Most observers put them in the second rank behind the Hurricanes, Panthers, Avalanche and Golden Knights, but Montreal looks capable of stepping up.
Their most recent move of signing 35-year-old free agent Chris Kreider could turn out to be very significant. He may be a couple of seasons past his peak production, but Kreider offers leadership, net-front presence and an ability to score on the power play. All of these attributes are added to a team that includes stars like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and defenseman Lane Hutson, and that means the Canadiens would be formidable.
Habs must use Kreider as a power play presence
The power play has been a significant asset for the Canadiens as Suzuki scored 11 goals with the man advantage last season and Caufield added 11 as a well. Kreider is one of the most skilled net-front players of the last decade and he can be formidable.
âÂÂSkillâ may not be the proper description of why Kreider is successful in the offensive zone. âÂÂWillâ is the reason behind that success. Kreider knowns how to anchor himself in front of the net, cause problems for goalies by impacting their vision and either deflecting shots or picking up rebounds that result in key goals.
Kreider was never better than he was in a three-year period with the New York Rangers when the scored 52, 36 and 39 goals from 2021-22 through 2023-24. He scored 22 goals in each of the last two seasons for the Rangers and Anaheim Ducks, and he could pot 25-30 with the Canadiens. In addition to his power play presence, look for Kreider to play on the second of third lines for head coach Martin St. Louis.
The Habs made a winning move in picking up Kreider just before the start of training camp â now they must figure out his best role for the team.
St. Louis has multiple assets throughout lineup, but â¦
The top line of Suzuki, Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky returns intact and should be one of the best and most explosive units in the league. Suzuki is a 200-foot player who sees the ice like few others and became a 101-point player last season. Caufield scored 51 goals last season and has the ability to reach that level on a consistent basis because of his speed, quickness and shocking quick release. Slafkovsky score 30 goals and 73 points a year ago, and he can reach those levels again.
The Canadiens need to see potential superstar Ivan Demidov step up on the second line. He flashed his talent last year with 19 goals and 43 assists. He could become a 30-goal scorer if the 20-year-old can demonstrate the maturity that is needed to take full advantage of his substantial talent.
The Canadiens have one of the top defensemen in the league in Lane Hutson. While he is not in the same category as Cale Makar of the Avs and Quinn Hughes of the Wild, he is in the next tier after scoring 12 goals and 66 assists a year ago. He is obviously a very strong asset for St. Louis, but the Canadiens would like to see continued growth from him in 2026-27.
Montreal's top defensive pair of Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson is solid and must show they can shut down the strongest lines in the Eastern Conference if the Canadiens are going to continue to grow this season.
One area that may be questionable is Montreal's goaltending. Jakub Dobes is the No. 1 goalie and he appears to be solid after recording a 29-10-4 record with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Jacob Fowler did enough last year in 17 games â 9-6-2, 2.43 GAA and .908 save percentage â to win the No. 2 job.
The issue is that neither one is a proven commodity. That won't happen until the Dobes-Fowler combination has provided excellent goaltending for multiple seasons. Until that happens, Montreal's goaltending is a potential issue that may need to be addressed.
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