2026 Season Preview: Montreal Canadiens
The last team eliminated ahead of the Stanley Cup Final, Montreal is one of the most exciting teams in the league and could have the best chance at bringing the Cup back to Canada.
The Montreal Canadiens are a team to which you can no longer give the benefit of the doubt. After advancing to the Eastern Conference Final, falling just three wins short of their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in five years, their time to build for the future is over. The kids are grown, the stage is set, and the time for them to show up and contend is here.
2025-26 Outcome
Regular Season Results: 48-24-10
Postseason Results: Defeated Tampa Bay 4-3, Defeated Buffalo 4-3, Lost to Carolina 4-1
All things considered, this was a successful year for Montreal. They finished third in their division, tied with Tampa Bay in points. Their young players continued to take massive steps. They got a 51 goal season from Cole Caufield, 101 points from Nick Suzuki, 78 points from Lane Hutson, 60-70 point campaigns from Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov, and two young goaltenders who stepped up in Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler.
Who’s In and Who’s Out
I’m sure reading those names you probably thought to yourself, I could have skipped this section all together. Brendan Gallagher is really the only notable subtraction from the Canadiens actual roster. Brett Berard has a very good chance of making this team out of camp as their extra forward. Aside from that, these are all mainly minor league swaps and additions. All of them are guys who can certainly be something somewhere down the road, and maybe even good call up options in the meantime. But nothing to really write home about right now. Oh, then there's Patrik Laine who, despite Chip's longing, remains an unrestricted free agent.
Key Offseason Moves
Again, there really weren’t any key moves made in Montreal this summer. The most notable change was the decision to finally move on from Brendan Gallagher. On the ice, I don’t see Montreal hurting much from the loss. But off it, he’s been one of their longest tenured players and a leader in that room for a long time. I think they’re going to be fine without him, but it’s still a big change for them.
The theme with this Montreal team is that the time for younger players to step up on and off the ice is certainly here. It’s already become Suzuki and Caufield’s team, and now it’s time for guys like Juraj Slafkovski, Ivan Demidov, and even players like Oliver Kapanen and Zac Bolduc, to follow suit.
