The Montreal Canadiens have shown tremendous growth the last two seasons. They finished the regular season tied for second within the Atlantic Division after which won a pair of series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres — each on the road within the seventh game — before they were defeated within the Eastern Conference Final.
That loss to the Carolina Hurricanes was significant since the Habs were beaten decisively in five games. The Habs struggled to maneuver the puck out of their very own zone as they were commonly hemmed in by the Hurricanes forechecking. On the alternative end, Carolina’s blue line crew had no trouble moving out of its own zone against Montreal’s efforts.
Along with carrying the puck out of their very own zone, Defensemen like Jaccob Slavin, K’Andre Miller and Shayne Gostisbehere made decisive passes at that allowed the Hurricanes to attack the Montreal net and goalie Jakub Dobes.
The Canadiens are clearly on the appropriate track with stars like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson leading the way in which, but head coach Marty St. Louis knows that the Habs have quite a little bit of work to do to get past the Hurricanes and make it the Stanley Cup Final next season.
While there are some personnel moves that can be made within the offseason, the Canadiens have a core of solid players that they should persist with amongst their forwards and their blue line.
Nevertheless, search for an enormous change in goal next yr.
Dobes and Fowler will supplant Montembeault in goal
At first of the season, it was expected that veteran goalie Sam Montembeault would proceed in his role because the Canadiens No. 1 goaltender. He had his best season in 2024-25 as he finished the yr with a 31-24-7 record together with 2.82 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
Nevertheless, the 2025-26 season was a disaster for Montembeault. He began badly and he never recovered. St. Louis had no issues handing the No. 1 position to Dobes because he was simply a lot better than Montembeault. Montembeault’s numbers were brutal. He was 10-8-4 with a 3.43 GAA and a painful .873 save percentage.
Dobes stepped in an excelled for the Habs with a 29-10-4 record together with a 2.78 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Along with Dobes, the Canadiens have a young goaltender in Jacob Fowler who will is on target to begin off next season because the team’s No. 2 goalie. He played 17 regular-season games and was 9-6-2 with a 2.43 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
There was some talk that Fowler would get a possibility to indicate what he could do within the playoffs, but Dobes took that chance and ran with it. Fowler saw just eight minutes of postseason motion in relief of Dobes.
Fowler is well considered and will eventually develop into the team’s No. 1 goalie.
Meaning there is not any more room for Montembeault. While his poor season hurts his trade value, the Habs can point to his previous work as they try to trade him. The Canadiens could get a minor leaguer with some potential or a draft pick for Montembeault in a trade.
A key change on the blue line is feasible
The Canadiens have depth amongst their forwards and their defensemen. Nevertheless, no team stays the identical from one season to the subsequent any longer, and it seems the Habs might pay more attention to upgrading their blue liners.
The highest two lines are amongst one of the best within the league with Suzuki at center with Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky on the highest line while Jake Evans centers for playoff hero Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov on the second line. The third line is centered by Phillip Danault and is sort of competent.
The Montreal defense features two potential stars in Hutson and Noah Dobson, while Mike Matheson and Jayden Struble are solid of their supporting roles. The third pairing of Kaiden Guhle and Alexandre Carrier is decent, nevertheless it doesn’t compare to the Dobson-Matheson or Hutson-Struble pairings.
Because of this, the Habs may try to enhance that blue line through free agency or the trade market. But the important thing to getting through the Eastern Conference Final and representing the Eastern Conference within the Stanley Cup Final is most certainly the continued improvement and maturation of their core players.
Nevertheless, the Canadiens have blue line prospect David Reinbacher within the pipeline. General manager Kent Hughes doesn’t like taking over expiring contracts of veteran players, and which means Reinbacher could get a possibility sooner somewhat than later.
The opposite aspect that would change that philosophy is that Hughes and St. Louis understand how close the Canadiens have gotten this season. Adding a high-priced veteran within the offseason or at next season’s trade deadline could propel the Habs to their first Stanley Cup since 1993.
The Montreal Canadiens have shown tremendous growth the last two seasons. They finished the regular season tied for second within the Atlantic Division after which won a pair of series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres — each on the road within the seventh game — before they were defeated within the Eastern Conference Final.