The Montreal Canadiens’ preseason wound down with a few clear winners, and three names rose above the rest: Samuel Montembeault, Florian Xhekaj, and Lane Hutson.
For Montembeault, this was the kind of response he needed. After a difficult 2025-26 season, he entered camp with real pressure on him.
Jakub Dobes finished last season strongly and made himself a legitimate option in goal, while Jacob Fowler keeps pushing toward a permanent NHL role. That left Montembeault in a tougher spot than before, and he answered by allowing just one goal on 35 shots across three half-games.
The numbers are strong, but the bigger takeaway was how steady he looked. He came across as calm and confident, which is exactly what Montreal wanted to see.
One good preseason won’t settle the goaltending conversation, but it certainly gave it more life.
Xhekaj’s camp was a different kind of test. He wasn’t just trying to have a decent showing; he needed to give the Canadiens a reason to keep him in the picture.
With Montreal’s forward group already crowded, that meant bringing something specific, not just blending in. He did that by leaning hard into the traits that define his game: physicality, grit, energy, and a willingness to compete.
At 6-foot-3 and over 190 pounds, he brings size and a clear bottom-six identity. He’ll finish checks, battle near the crease, and stand up for teammates.
That kind of edge can matter on a roster like this, and his play seems to have put him in position to make the initial roster. Whether he sticks all season is another question, but he clearly helped his case.
Then there’s Hutson, who didn’t need preseason games to prove he belongs. He’s already one of the Canadiens’ most important players, and he treated the exhibition slate like the real thing anyway.
In just two preseason games, he piled up five points and once again flashed the offensive creativity that makes him so dangerous from the blue line. The production stands out, sure, but what really jumps off the page is how easy he makes the game look when he’s driving offense.
He creates space with his skating, moves the puck fast, and doesn’t hesitate to jump into the play when he sees an opening. For a Montreal team with rising expectations, that kind of continued growth could end up being a major factor in how far this group goes.
That’s the real value of preseason: not just the results, but the answers. Montembeault showed he can still give Montreal strong starts.
Xhekaj made himself hard to ignore in a packed competition. Hutson kept right on being Hutson.
In Other News...
Canadiens Sent David Reinbacher Down For A Bigger Reason
David Reinbachers latest assignment to Laval says more about the Canadiens roster picture than it does about his play. Montreals decision was not a reflection of how he performed, but a sign of how the club wants to manage a young defenseman who is still best served by getting major minutes rather than sitting in a limited role on the NHL bench.
The timing matters, too, because the Canadiens are getting healthier on the blue line. With Kaiden Guhle edging closer to a return, the immediate need for an extra defenseman has eased, leaving Montreal with a choice that favors development over depth. For now, Reinbacher stays where the games can give him more responsibility, even if the path back up becomes clearer again soon. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Make A Tough Early Call On David Reinbacher
The Canadiens final roster cuts brought a notable early-season decision on David Reinbacher, who will start the year with the Laval Rocket in the AHL. The former fifth-overall pick had a strong preseason, but Montreal is clearly taking the long view with a young defenseman whose development has already been shaped by injury history and a crowded battle for minutes on the blue line.
For now, Reinbacher should get the kind of heavy workload in Laval that can be harder to guarantee in Montreal, where the club had to balance roster spots, waiver concerns and its depth chart on defense. The door to the NHL is hardly closed, though, and if he keeps building through the season, the Canadiens are leaving themselves plenty of room to bring him back up when the timing makes sense. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Trade Interest Just Raised The Stakes For Kent Hughes
The Canadiens spent part of the summer exploring a bigger swing, with Frank Seravalli reporting that management had considered packaging Kirby Dach in a larger deal if it meant bringing immediate help back the other way. It was the kind of roster-thinking that makes sense for a team trying to accelerate its timeline, and it also showed how aggressively Kent Hughes has been willing to survey the market when there is a chance to reshape the lineup.
Montreal had Kirill Marchenko in mind as a possible target before he was moved to Toronto, which forced the Canadiens to keep searching for another path. The Edmonton Oilers also showed interest in Dach, but Hughes appears to be holding out for a more significant trade opening, leaving the next move tied to whether a better fit comes available. [Read more 🡒]