Just one season removed from surprising trip to the Eastern Conference final, the Montreal Canadiens enter 2026-27 looking to prove that was just the start of what’s to come.
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what → enter → 2026
The Canadiens surprised many in 2025-26 with a 48-24-10 record, 106 points and coming within three wins of a Stanley Cup final appearance.
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Canadiens → surprise → appearance
They fell to the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes in five games after consecutive nail-biting Game 7 road victories against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres.
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They → fall → Lightning
Much of the roster that got them through to the league’s final four teams last year remains intact.
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that → get → teams
Nick Suzuki enters the season having cemented himself as one of the NHL’s premier two-way centres.
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Suzuki → enter → centres
The Canadiens captain posted a career-high 101 points last season and captured the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward.
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captain → post → forward
Cole Caufield added 51 goals — the first Hab to reach the mark in 26 years — while Juraj Slafkovsky reached the 30 goal plateau for the first time in his career.
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Slafkovsky → add → career
With management continuing to put its faith in that young core, the Canadiens remained relatively quiet for much of the summer before making their biggest move just ahead of training camp, signing veteran forward Chris Kreider to a one-year contract on Sept. 12.
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Canadiens → continue → Sept.
The 35-year-old arrives after the final year of his contract was terminated by the Anaheim Ducks, bringing nearly 1,000 games of NHL experience to the fold.
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year → arrive → fold
Kreider is expected to start the season on Montreal’s top line alongside Suzuki and Caufield, giving Montreal another net-front presence and veteran complement.
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Kreider → expect → presence
“Kreids (Kreider) does a good job down low,” Suzuki said.
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Suzuki → do → job
“He’s pretty sneaky at making plays.
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He → ’ → plays
He’s kind of known as a goal scorer but he’s got a lot of nice touches around the net and keeps pucks alive.”
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he → know → pucks
Montreal has 13 forwards under NHL contract, leaving limited opportunities for younger players to force their way into the lineup.
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players → have → lineup
Among those pushing hardest, however, are Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj.
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Beck → push → those
Beck has appeared in 28 NHL games over parts of three seasons but has yet to establish himself as a regular, recording just two points with the NHL squad.
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Beck → appear → squad
“I’ve been trying to do what I can to make an impact every training camp I come to,” Beck said.
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Beck → try → impact
“It seems like it’s kind of the same situation almost year after year.
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it → seem → year
I’m just trying to work on my game every day and hopefully break through at one point.”
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I → try → point
Xhekaj, meanwhile, played five NHL games last season and enters camp with a similarly straightforward objective.
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Xhekaj → play → objective
“I still have a lot to prove,” he said.
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he → have → lot
“I show up every day and do what I have to do, work hard in practice and show what I bring to the table.”
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I → show → table
Suzuki has been encouraged by the internal competition at camp among the team’s youngsters.
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Suzuki → encourage → youngsters
“All the guys that kind of played with us a bit last year have shown really well at camp so far,” said the Montreal captain.
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captain → play → camp
“Obviously, their mindset is they’ve got to come in, take someone’s job and earn their way onto the team.”
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they → get → team
Montreal will begin the season without defenceman Kaiden Guhle, who underwent minor surgery on his adductor muscle during the summer.
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who → begin → summer
He is expected to be out until mid-October.
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He → expect → October
That creates an opening on the blue line and, with it, an opportunity for David Reinbacher.
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That → create → Reinbacher
Montreal’s fifth-overall pick in the 2023 draft, Reinbacher made his NHL debut last season, appearing in the team’s final two regular-season games.
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Reinbacher → make → games
At 21, he is entering a critical stage of his development after an injury-riddled start to his professional career.
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he → enter → career
“There’s a lot of maturity in his game,” Florian Xhekaj said.
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Xhekaj → ’ → game
“He has taken the little things that everyone has been telling him and kind of implementing everything into his game.
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everyone → take → game
He’s playing pretty simple, is good defensively, and I think he’s doing really well for himself right now.”
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he → play → himself
Perhaps the biggest question mark, however, comes in the crease.
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mark → come → crease
The Canadiens finished last season with three goaltenders on the roster after veteran Samuel Montembeault’s struggles forced Montreal to turn elsewhere.
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struggles → finish → Montreal
Jakub Dobes emerged as Montreal’s No. 1 down the stretch and started all 19 playoff games.
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Dobes → emerge → games
Armed with a three-year contract extension beginning next season he signed this past July
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he → arm → extension
, Dobes has established himself as the likely opening-night starter Tuesday night in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.
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Dobes → establish → Leafs
Jacob Fowler also showed promise in his rookie season, allowing two goals or fewer in 10 of his 17 starts after being called up in December.
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Fowler → show → December
But with general manager Kent Hughes vowing at the team’s annual golf tournament earlier this month that Montreal would not begin the season with three goaltenders on its 23-man roster, something has to give.
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something → vow → roster
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
