With opening night less than a week away, the Montreal Canadiens are starting to look like a team that knows most of its answers - even if a few of the biggest ones are still up in the air.
Martin St. Louis should have a clearer picture soon enough, but there’s already a strong case for how the Canadiens line up against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A couple of preseason games remain, and they could still shake things loose. Still, there’s a pretty solid blueprint here for the forwards and defense if Montreal sticks with what has worked best so far.
On the top line, the combination of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Chris Kreider makes plenty of sense. Kreider was the surprise addition there in the first preseason game, bumping Slafkovsky out of that spot, but the fit is easy to understand if the goal is to spread out the talent across the top six. Kreider was out Monday night, with Alex Newhook taking his place, though that looked more like a veteran getting a night off than a real lineup change.
That move would also allow Montreal to revisit a group that clicked early last season: Juraj Slafkovsky, Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov. Kapanen looked his best with Slafkovsky and Demidov flanking him, and there’s a real chance all three could take another step if they’re reunited. Demidov, of course, carries the biggest breakout expectations of the bunch.
The bottom six is where the real decisions begin. A third line of Alex Newhook, Phillip Danault and Zachary Bolduc gives Montreal a mix of speed, experience and some bite.
The hope is that Newhook and Bolduc can bring the kind of playoff-level impact they showed in the postseason, with Danault providing the steadying presence in the middle. If that group hits, it could be one of the more useful lines on the roster.
Then there’s the fourth line, which might be the most interesting of all. Josh Anderson and Jake Evans look like strong bets to be there, and Florian Xhekaj has done enough in preseason to make the idea of him opening the season in the lineup more than just a long shot.
If that happens, the center battle becomes the key piece, with Evans holding a slight edge over Kirby Dach because of his faceoff work. That could still be a spot the coaching staff shuffles early on.
In this setup, Alexandre Texier would be the forward on the outside looking in.
The blue line could bring even more surprises. The boldest possibility is David Reinbacher starting next to Lane Hutson, a pairing that would turn heads but also one that looked strong against the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.
There is one wrinkle, though: Reinbacher and Hutson have not practiced together yet this camp, so St. Louis could still move pieces around before settling in.
If they do end up together, that would leave Noah Dobson with Mike Matheson.
That would not be a new pairing, since Dobson and Matheson spent the most time together among Canadiens defense pairs last season. The results, though, were uneven, with a Corsi For % of 45.39%.
For the third pair, Jayden Struble and Alexandre Carrier look like the first two names to get the call, especially with Kaiden Guhle expected to miss the start of the season. That would push Arber Xhekaj into the extra defenseman role and send Adam Engstrom back to Laval. Xhekaj would still be waiting in the wings if Struble or Carrier stumbles early, but the logjam gets even tighter once Guhle returns.
The Canadiens may already have most of the roster mapped out. The final preseason games will decide whether these projections become the real thing.
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Canadiens Blue-Line Battle Just Got More Complicated At Camp
The Canadiens blue-line picture at 2026 training camp is already starting to shift, and David Reinbacher has put himself squarely in the middle of it. General manager Kent Hughes has been upbeat about what he has seen from the young defenseman, and Reinbacher has taken advantage of a camp where every rep matters and every look seems to count a little more than usual.
Kaiden Guhles prolonged absence has only widened the opening for Reinbacher, giving Montreal a closer look at how he fits into the mix right now rather than somewhere down the road. The competition is still crowded, with Adam Engstrm and Jayden Struble also pushing for roster spots, so nothing is being handed out yet, but Reinbacher has clearly made this more interesting than it was a week ago. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Fans Have One Huge Reason To Worry About Hellebuyck
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For the Canadiens, the intrigue is obvious because the team is always watching for a chance to upgrade in goal, and a name like Hellebuyck changes the conversation immediately. Winnipeg, for its part, is not rushing into anything and has been firm about the return it wants, so this is far from a simple fit-and-finish scenario. Until the Jets decide whether to keep pushing for the right trade package, the whole thing sits in a holding pattern that keeps multiple fan bases, including Montreals, paying close attention. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Camp Split Just Revealed Who Still Has A Real Shot
Training camp has already started to clarify the picture for Montreal, and the latest roster trim says plenty about where things stand. The Canadiens have gone from three groups down to two, with the more competitive side now featuring the established regulars and a handful of young players still hanging around the fight for opening-night jobs.
Group A includes Florian Xhekaj, Owen Beck, Adam Engstrm and David Reinbacher alongside the veterans, which is the kind of company that keeps attention fixed on the next few practices. Ivan Demidov was not listed because he was taking a treatment day, while the players in Group B are expected to be cut soon as the team works toward its final 23-man roster by Sept. 28. Jayden Struble is still there too, even after a rough preseason outing, which only adds a little more intrigue to the mix. [Read more 🡒]