After acquiring Zachary Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues on the opening day of free agency, along with making several other signings, Kent Hughes stated that the team feels comfortable starting the season with its current roster.
I will use my crystal ball to look to the future and foresee the 23-man roster for opening night. Here are two assumptions that I will be working with:
- No trades or signings before opening night
- No injuries during training camp
The odds of both those assumptions being true are slim, but I don’t want to bring bad luck to any player and predict injuries.
Forward Lines
| Cole Caufield | Nick Suzuki | Juraj Slafkovsky |
| Patrik Laine | Kirby Dach | Ivan Demidov |
| Josh Anderson | Jake Evans | Brendan Gallagher |
| Alex Newhook | Oliver Kapanen | Zachary Bolduc |
Scratch: Samuel Blais
Last season, Martin St. Louis typically changed line combinations when forced by injuries or other circumstances out of his control. That principle guided my projection and kept as many duos and lines possible intact.
Christian Dvorak’s departure creates a gap for a left shooting center. Hughes negotiated with the forward until the end, but he understandably declined to match the Philadelphia Flyers $5.4-million contract offer. He did not hide that he’s still working the phones to improve down the middle via trade.
There’s one spot available for a young prospect to start in Montreal, with Oliver Kapanen and Owen Beck likely battling for the spot. I didn’t give Kapanen the edge because he takes draws on the left side, but rather because of his additional experience in professional hockey and the more prominent role he played during the Laval Rocket’s playoff run.
Samuel Blais will take Michael Pezzetta’s spot as the 13th forward. In that role, he’ll likely sit as a scratch most nights but bring energy when he gets into the lineup.
Defensive Pairings
| Mike Matheson | Noah Dobson |
| Kaiden Guhle | Lane Hutson |
| Arber Xhekaj | Alexandre Carrier |
Scratches: Jayden Struble
Dobson’s addition along with David Savard’s retirement will bring significant changes to the defensive pairings. The coaching staff has given a lot of ice time to Mike Matheson and I don’t see that changing this season. The Matheson-Dobson duo would be good for transitions and offensive zone starts. Defensively, that pair risks stressing their coaches.
Kaiden Guhle’s and Lane Hutson’s strengths can compliment each other well. Guhle’s strong defensive play gives Hutson the freedom to jump into the offence and use his creativity to generate scoring chances.
The third pairing’s objective is to begin defensive zone faceoffs and bring energy. Hughes said during the most recent press conference that the goal is to have a puck mover on each defensive pairing, and Alexandre Carrier can have that role on that duo. Arber Xhekaj brings physicality, toughness, and intimidation to the lineup.
Goaltending
| Samuel Montembeault | Jakub Dobes |
Following Cayden Primeau’s departure, the team signed Kaapo Kahkonen to a one-year deal at $1.15-million. Kahkonen is an insurance policy in case of injury to Samuel Montembeault or Jakub Dobes, and allows Jacob Fowler to focus on playing with the Rocket. His contract makes him a less likely target for other teams to claim off waivers.
Dobes, with a freshly signed two-year contract, will look to build on his rookie NHL season. After a spectacular debut, winning his first five starts, he began to look more like a typical rookie goaltender. If his sophomore season doesn’t go as planned, the presence of a veteran gives the organization the flexibility to temporarily send him to Laval for a few starts.
While injuries and trades can reshape the roster before opening night, this projection offers a preview into how the Canadiens might look heading into the 2025–26 season.
