The Montreal Canadiens didn’t make a splash in free agency, but Bleacher Report still has them sitting third in its latest NHL Power Rankings.
That puts Montreal behind only the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche, a placement that reflects more than a quiet offseason. The Canadiens have been drawing praise for the way Kent Hughes has handled the summer, even without landing one of the bigger names on the market.
Bleacher Report pointed to two major moves in particular: the contract extensions for Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes. Those deals were described as important for the team’s core, and getting them done early to keep offer sheets away was framed as a major win. Anaheim Ducks GM Pat Verbeek would likely appreciate the logic there.
The lack of a free-agent signing is not being treated as a setback for Montreal, even if Hughes still hasn’t made a notable splash on the open market since taking over. The approach may not be flashy, but it has fit the Canadiens well during the Hughes, Jeff Gorton and Martin St-Louis era.
A big part of that story is the way the team’s young players have kept climbing. Nick Suzuki has gone from 61 points to 66, then 77, 89 and finally 101 over the last five years.
He’s also earned recognition as a top defensive forward, capped by his Frank J. Selke win, and the debate over whether he’s a true first-line center is long gone.
Cole Caufield has followed a similar path. His point totals have risen from 43 to 64, then 65, 70 and 88, with the 64-point mark projected over 82 games after he had 36 points in 46 games because of a shoulder injury.
This past season, he hit 51 goals, becoming the first Hab to reach that number since Stephane Richer. The difference now is that he’s not just a one-trick threat from the flank; he can hurt teams in more than one way inside the offensive zone.
Juraj Slafkovsky has also taken a clear step. His production has moved from 51 points to 73, but the bigger change has been in how he plays.
He has embraced a heavier, more physical role on the top line, using his speed to win pucks deep and then getting to the net for the dirty goals. That shift helped him reach 30 goals in a season for the first time.
On the blue line, Lane Hutson has kept building on a huge rookie year. After posting 66 points as a rookie, he followed with 78 in his second season.
His goal total doubled from six to 12, and his shot has become a bigger weapon. He fired on goal more than 30 additional times this past season, with his shooting percentage climbing from 6.7% to 9.7%.
The work he’s put in before practices with Adam Nicholas and Ivan Demidov has clearly paid off.
Demidov himself made a strong first impression in his NHL debut season, and he did it while skating with two players who aren’t top-six pieces on a Cup contender. If Montreal adds help on the second line before the season, his numbers could jump again. Even if the roster stays as is, a year of NHL experience should only make him more effective.
That’s the logic behind Montreal’s patience. The Canadiens are young, their best players are trending up, and the front office seems comfortable betting on internal growth. The salary cap is expected to keep rising for a while, but not forever, and teams handing out huge free-agent deals may eventually hit a wall.
Montreal expects to be in a strong position when that happens. Hughes has already locked in much of the core on team-friendly deals, and he even avoided paying Kirby Dach $4 million, despite that being the qualifying offer he was due.
The hope is that by then, the Canadiens’ record and culture will make Montreal a more appealing place for free agents. For now, the message is clear: this isn’t inactivity. It’s a long game, and the league seems to understand it, even if fans don’t always see it that way.
In Other News...
Canadiens Delay On Bolduc And Xhekaj Signals Something Bigger Ahead
Montreals offseason to-do list still has some important names on it, and the wait on Zach Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj fits the way Kent Hughes has handled the roster so far. The Canadiens have been careful with their cap space, keeping flexibility while also trying to shape the lineup around bigger moves, and that means even with more than $14 million available, nothing is moving in a straight line.
Kirby Dach is still unsigned too, but Bolduc and Xhekaj are in a different spot because there is no hard signing clock pushing either side into a quick deal. They are not the kind of restricted free agents who scream offer-sheet risk, which helps explain the patience, but the bigger question is whether Montreals pursuit of a top-six forward on the trade market changes the math and forces the club to settle its remaining business sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Prospect Retires At 22 In A Brutal Carey Price Twist
Gannon Laroques path in pro hockey has reached an early end, with the 22-year-old defense prospect stepping away after a career that once carried real promise. Originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in 2021, Laroque had become part of the Canadiens long-range picture, the kind of depth piece teams hope can grow into something more if the development breaks right.
His name also carries extra weight in Montreal because he was one of the assets tied to the Carey Price trade, a reminder that even major deals can have unexpected aftershocks years later. Laroques recent seasons were already interrupted by injuries, and while the Canadiens will move on with their prospect pool, the loss of a young defender this early is another harsh example of how quickly a hockey career can change course. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Just Got Another Reason To Love Lane Hutson's Deal
Pavel Mintyukovs new deal in Anaheim is another reminder of how quickly the market for young defensemen has climbed, and it also gives Canadiens fans a fresh way to look at Lane Hutsons contract. Montreal was among the teams linked to Mintyukov before he decided to stay put, so the comparison is more than just theoretical for a club that has been hunting for blue-line help and watching the price tag on that kind of player keep rising.
Hutsons value only looks better against that backdrop. His production has already separated him from Mintyukovs, and the contract gap feels even wider when the market is pushing upward around them. For the Canadiens, it is the kind of development that makes an already favorable deal look even sharper, even if the broader defenseman market is still leaving plenty of room for more expensive decisions elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]