The Canadiens’ camp opened Wednesday at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard, and the early buzz around Montreal is already running hot.
That feeling isn’t coming only from the fan base, either. NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen put the Canadiens at No. 1 on Wednesday in his ranking of the seven teams with the best chance to win the Stanley Cup, ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights.
Rosen said the idea of Montreal as the outright favorite “shouldn't” be shocking. “Maybe they won't enter the season as the top team in preseason polls, but all the boxes are checked for the Canadiens to win their first Stanley Cup championship since 1993.”
He pointed to a team that already has some playoff scars after reaching the Eastern Conference final last season before falling to the Hurricanes. He also highlighted a roster that includes captain Nick Suzuki, the Selke Trophy winner, Cole Caufield coming off a 50-goal season, Lane Hutson as a Norris Trophy-calibre defenceman, Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky as two of the league’s best young forwards, enough depth to roll four lines and a true No. 1 goalie in Jakub Dobes.
The excitement only grew after the Canadiens added veteran free-agent forward Chris Kreider over the weekend, which sent Sid Seixeiro into full charge on his podcast, The Sid Seixeiro Show.
“We have to acknowledge that the Montreal Canadiens, if they make one trade here of significance, might win the Stanley Cup this year - and the next four years after that!” Seixeiro said.
“Dear rest of the National Hockey League: It's like the Montreal Canadiens are an AI company and they're going unchecked. You are allowing the Montreal Canadiens to develop a super mainframe and a super computer that is far more intelligent and far more powerful and far more influential than anything else any of you could come up with.
“The Canadiens are building a computer to dominate the world and (the Maple Leafs) go sign Jack Roslovic?” Seixeiro added.
“You have to stop them before it's too late. Before they go trade for Dylan Larkin and play him in his proper position, 2C.
The Canadiens are this close. It's the Manhattan Project, and they almost are ready to take you out, man.
They're this close, and no one on their cap is signed for larger than $9.5 million per year! Sacré bleu!”
In Other News...
Arber Xhekajs Deal Puts His Canadiens Future Under A Brighter Spotlight
Arber Xhekajs latest contract situation says as much about timing as it does about the player himself. According to Nicolas Cloutier, the one-year deal was not something imposed by the Canadiens, but a choice made by Xhekaj and his agent after a summer spent waiting to see whether a trade would ease the congestion on Montreals blue line. His ice time last season never fully matched the long-term role many had imagined for him, which only added to the sense that this was a player trying to keep his options open.
Medium-term contract ideas were also reportedly in the mix, which makes the eventual short-term route even more revealing about where things stood. For Xhekaj, the next season now carries real weight: a stronger year would not only help him re-establish his place in the lineup, it could also put him in a better spot when the next round of negotiations comes around. [Read more 🡒]
Jacob Fowler Gives Canadiens Fans A Rookie Race Worth Watching
The early chatter around the 2026-27 Calder Trophy is already drifting toward the usual blue-chip names, but Jacob Fowler is the kind of long-shot candidate Canadiens fans can keep an eye on for a different reason. Montreal has a habit of making room for young talent when it is ready, and Fowler fits that conversation as one of the more intriguing under-the-radar rookies mentioned in the mix, alongside other prospects such as James Hagens and Konsta Helenius.
What makes Fowler worth tracking is less about immediate hype than the path he could force if his development keeps moving the right way. The rookie race is always shaped by opportunity as much as talent, and for Montreal the real question is whether Fowler can arrive at the point where the Canadiens have a decision to make about how quickly to bring him into the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens May Have An Unexpected Arber Xhekaj Plan
With Kaiden Guhle unavailable and Montreal still sorting through its blue-line depth, Martin St-Louis is keeping the door open to a different kind of lineup wrinkle for Arber Xhekaj. The Canadiens still view Xhekaj mainly as a defenseman, especially after he recently signed a one-year contract, but the coaching staff is clearly thinking about ways to keep him in the mix as roster needs shift from night to night.
Xhekaj has already gotten a brief look on the wing once before, and the idea is no longer being treated as a one-off curiosity. For Montreal, the appeal is simple: a physical, versatile player who can help in more than one spot gives St-Louis another option while the team waits to see how the rest of the lineup settles in. [Read more 🡒]