Two Canadiens Players You Want to Believe in

Canadiens fans have plenty to look forward to next season. Newcomers Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc are expected to play major roles with the team, while their young core will, hopefully, keep building on their impressive showing last season.

There are incredibly good vibes currently surrounding the Habs. Nevertheless, there are some players who didn’t end last season on the best note. More importantly, these players simply disappointed both the fans and management to the point where many actually hoped the team would have moved on from them and replaced them with more reliable options as they currently occupy important positions in the lineup.

Well unless a major surprise happens before training camp, it seems we’re starting the seasons with them. Sure you could be disappointed, but what if we tried, believing in them instead?

Patrick Laine – He simply cannot be this slow

When Montreal acquired Patrik Laine and a 2nd round pick in exchange for Jordan Harris, everyone knew there was risk involved. Laine had suffered numerous injuries over the past few seasons, joined the NHL/NHLPA player’s assistance program the year before and quite simply didn’t show the kind of performances you’d expect from a player with such obvious talent.

Despite all the warning signs surrounding the player, the general opinion of the fan base was pure excitement. Montreal had been deprived of world class offensive talent for so long, it wasn’t all that surprising that everyone in town was willing to give Laine a chance to redeem himself. All this excitement only to see him go down in his first preseason game with a serious knee injury.

Laine did come back in December and it didn’t take long for the hype to pick up again, seeing him score goals after goals on the powerplay, helping the team to right the ship in an impressive run through mid-january. But even when he was scoring and helping the team win, even the unexperienced eyes could see it, Patrik Laine was at 5 on 5, a complete liability on the ice.

No explosions in his strides, no intensity along the boards, clearly unable to carry the puck through the offensive zone, it’s like the man was carrying a piano on his back while he was skating. His ability to shoot the puck on the powerplay remained an incredible asset, but he also became a problem as you could not put him on any line without considering him an anchor, dragging down his teamates. In the minds of many, it’s more than enough to consider Laine as someone who won’t be around the team eventually, at the latest when his contract expires at the end of the 2025-2026 season.

Well if you’re lucky enough to have watched him train in Brossard this summer (often alongside potential linemate Ivan Demidov), he’s looking pretty good out there. In fact, he actually looks much more comfortable skating and moving with the puck than he did all of last season. What if the version of Laine we saw last season was simply a banged up one? What if his knee, while healthy enough to play, wasn’t good enough to make him play to his full capacity? Now, I’m not saying he’s gonna turn it around and become the hardest working, strongest skater on the team, but if that improvement confirms itself, it would certainly give Montreal a much deeper, dangerous team offensively.

As the eternal optimist that I am, I decided to believe in Laine’s ability to prove his doubters wrong and have a great season with the Canadiens. He might not stick around afterwards, but he’ll be an important contributor in the team’s playoffs hopes.

Kirby Dach – Staying healthy and showing up in shape

Saying Kirby Dach had a disappointing season would be an understatement. After showing great promise at the end of the 2023-2024 season, looking impressive in his training camp in 2024 before getting injured after only one regular season game. Fans were looking forward to see him become the big 2nd line centre every team dreams for with some even claiming his potential was higher than team captain Nick Suzuki.

Despite the lofty expectations surrounding him, there was an acceptance of patience towards Dach when the season began. He just came back from surgery on both knees and it seemed obvious to everyone that time would be needed for him to go back to the level he was before his injury.

So we waited.

We waited until Dach played his 57th game of the season, posting only 10 goals and 22 points joined by a team worst -29 ratio when he got injured and needed surgery once again.

When the season ended, rumors started flying around about Dach’s physical preparation going into camp last season. How management was disatisfied with the way he showed up to camp, especially after such a long rehab, and that probably affected his performances on the ice. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes hinted at the importance of Dach’s summer in their end of the season press conference so, if you read between the lines here, they still believe he’s a player that can be part of the team’s future but it’s up to him to show up in great shape and ready to go.

While management was very transparent about the need to upgrade the 2nd line centre position, the different moves they made this offseason didn’t directly address it, making Dach the de-facto most obvious option considered at that spot. While many would still rather see Montreal make one last move to grab a much more reliable option, it also makes sense not wanting to overpay before letting Dach, who’s contract ends at the end of the season making him a restricted free agent, have one last chance to prove he can be the player Montreal thinks he can be since they traded for him in 2022.

And even if Dach were to fail in that role, there is always the possibility of him playing the wing or outside the top 6 as he has enough qualities to be a NHL player, even if he doesn’t live up to his potential. If you believe what Sportsnet’s Eric Engels has to say, Dach is having a great summer that should put any doubts about his physical condition to rest.

Quick note from vacation:
1. It was never guaranteed Kirby Dach would be ready for the start of training camp, AND it is also premature to suggest he won't be.
2. Suggestions Dach has had a setback in his recovery are completely false. Not only has he not had a setback, he's…

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) August 6, 2025

What do you guys think? Should we believe in both these players to step up their game and prove their doubters wrong? Do you believe in one or more than the other? Or should or expectations be lowered as we keep looking for better options out there?

I for one, dare to think both players will do much better than they did last year.

Thank you all for reading and have a nice day!