The Canadiens have already seen what happens when they bet on skill over size.
Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson both arrived with the same warning label attached: too small, too easy to overlook. Caufield was listed at 5-foot-7 and 163 pounds when Marc Bergevin picked him in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver.
Hutson came in at 5-foot-8 and 148 pounds when Kent Hughes selected him in the second round of the 2022 draft at the Bell Centre. Both looked undersized on draft day.
Both wound up proving the doubts wrong.
Caufield is now listed at 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds, and last season he scored 51 goals, becoming the first Canadien to reach 50 since Stéphane Richer had 51 in 1989-90. Hutson has also taken a big leap. Two seasons ago, he became the first Canadien to win the Calder Trophy since goalie Ken Dryden in 1972, and last season he finished sixth in Norris Trophy voting after putting up 12-66-78 in 82 games with a plus-36 rating.
That track record is part of why Montreal was willing to take another swing on a smaller player in the 2025 NHL Draft, using the 113th pick on forward L.J. Mooney, who was listed at 5-foot-7.
Mooney was back at Canadiens development camp last month at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard for the second time, and he said he has added about 10 pounds since draft day. At camp, he was measured at 5-foot-71/2 and 169 pounds, and said the extra weight has not cost him any speed.
The parallels are obvious enough. Caufield and Hutson were doubted because of their frames, and now they’re both established examples of why the Canadiens are comfortable trusting what they see beyond the measuring tape. Mooney is the next test of that idea.
In Other News...
Canadiens Are Taking A Real Risk With Samuel Montembeault
Samuel Montembeault is still on the Canadiens roster in mid-August, and for now the front office seems content to let the situation play out. Kent Hughes does not appear interested in moving the goaltender when the return would be light, which leaves Montreal in a familiar holding pattern: waiting to see whether a patient approach can turn a limited market into a better one later on.
For the Canadiens, the gamble is obvious. Keeping Montembeault gives them a chance to see if his value rises over the course of the season, but it also means carrying a goalie whose performance has already raised questions about whether he can take a meaningful step forward. If he does not, Montreal could end up spending another year searching for answers while the trade value Hughes is protecting never really materializes. [Read more 🡒]
Scott Gomez Still Hasn't Let Go Of A Painful Canadiens Era
Scott Gomezs time in Montreal still hangs over him in a way that clearly goes beyond the box score. The former first-round pick arrived with expectations and, after a strong first season, his production tailed off during a stretch that included a long scoring drought and growing frustration from both the fan base and the local media, especially after the trade that sent Ryan McDonagh to the Canadiens.
What stands out now is how completely Gomez has stepped away from anything tied to that chapter. He has reportedly kept his distance from Montreal-related conversations and has avoided interviews connected to the team, a sign that the experience left a deeper mark than many old hockey stories do. For Canadiens fans, it is another reminder of how quickly a promising start can turn into a painful legacy. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Linked To Another Winger Ottawa May Not Want To Lose
The Canadiens offseason shopping list may not be finished yet, and one name worth watching is Drake Batherson. Montreal is reportedly interested in the Ottawa winger if the Senators are unable to lock him up to a new contract, which would put a productive division rival squarely on the radar for a team still looking to add more punch on the wing.
Bathersons situation has the potential to shape more than one front offices plans, because Ottawa would prefer not to let a player of that caliber drift into the market. If the Senators cannot bridge the gap, Montreal could be positioned to jump in, but the real intrigue is what kind of contract talks are going on behind the scenes and whether Ottawa can keep the door from opening at all. [Read more 🡒]