Raw Charge
Summary
Last season the Canadiens edged out the Lightning in one of the best play-off series in recent memory. Can they continue their upward momentum now that expectations have also risen? 2025-26 Record 48-24-10 (106 points) 3rd in Atlantic 2025-26 Record Against Lightning 2-1-1 (4-3 in the playoffs) 2025-26 Goals For 279 (7th) 2025-26 Goals Against 251 (16th) 2025-26 Power Play 23.1% (10th) 2025-26 Penalty Kill 78.2% (18th) 2026-27 Division Odds +550 2026-27 Stanley Cup Odds +2000 Stats via NHL and Hockey Reference. Odds via Hard Rock Bet as of 10/8/26 Off-season Additions Chris Kreider, Hunter McKown, Samuel Poulin, Brett Berard, Sasha Pastujov, Reilly Walsh, Ethan Samson, Maksymilian Szuber Off-season Departures Joe Veleno, Sean Farrell, Brendan Gallagher, Sammy Blais, Luke Tuch, Joshua Roy, William Trudeau, Marc Del Gaizo Rookie to Watch Despite being a young team, Montreal isn’t expected to have a ton of rookies in the line-up as they’ve moved beyond that stage of team development. If Jakob Dobes falters in net, Jacob Fowler is primed to jump in and take his place after seeing some time down the stretch last season. The rookie that could have the biggest impact might be David Reinbacher. The 21-year-old defenseman was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft (ahead of Matvei Michkov and Ryan Leonard) and has taken his time getting adjusted to the North American game. Injuries have slowed him a bit, but he had a strong 2025-26 season in Laval with 24 points (5 goals, 19 assists) in 57 games. He’s starting the season in Laval, but could be among the first call-ups if there are injuries on the blueline for Montreal. He projects to be a top-pairing defenseman who can do it all, but needs to stay healthy in order to do it. Preview There was a time that the Tampa Bay Lightning were the young, fun team with no expectations (and a host of players signed to team-friendly, below market deals). They managed to go from surprising upstarts to Stanley Cup champions, eventually meeting the demands that grew with their success. For the last couple of seasons, the Montreal Canadiens, led by players like Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov has been that young team playing over their heads. That cushion ends now. Now, with the rebuild complete, they aren’t sneaking up on anyone. For some teams it becomes harder to skate so freely when weighted down by expectations. Chalking up mistakes or losing streaks to youthful inexperience is no longer an option. While they are a young team, their stars are all now playoff tested and have racked up a few years in the league. They have to perform or the criticism from the media and fans will come swiftly and harshly. After their run to the Eastern Conference Final last year, it was a relatively quiet offseason for the Canadiens. If any of the players, other than late signing Chris Kreider, under the “additions” section above appear in meaningful games for them, things have gone slightly off the rails. Rather than mining the free agent field, they wrapped up their internal talent by signing Demidov to a long-term deal. They also signed Dobes to a three-year deal and wrapped up depth players Alex Newhook (four years) and Zack Bolduc (four years). They like the core of the team as it is, and they should. There is a lot of talent on the ice, especially among the forwards, and they should be able to carry their success forward for quite a few years. In fact, they might not have tapped into the full potential of Demidov and Slafkovsky, which should worry fans of other Atlantic teams. In short, we expect Montreal to be good for the next few years. There are some indications that the Canadiens outperformed some of the analytical numbers in terms of expected goals and scoring chances on offense. Is it a one-year thing, or the sign of a talented team? That’s what they’ll have to figure out this season. There is a target on their back now. Can they handle it?