The Canadiens may head into the season looking almost exactly like the group that finished the playoffs, and that possibility has created a real opening battle in Montreal.
Aside from the departures of Brendan Gallagher and Joe Veleno, not much has changed in the lineup over the summer. Kent Hughes has gone through months of rumors and fan expectations without landing the kind of impact addition many thought would arrive, and that lack of movement is now putting the spotlight on the 13th forward job.
Jared Davidson, Owen Beck and Florian Xhekaj are all expected to push for that spot at training camp, but Grant McCagg floated a more unexpected option from Laval.
"If Beck or Florian Xhekaj isn't in the starting lineup to start the regular season and the Canadiens don't pick up another forward or have training camp injuries, I see Lucas Condotta starting the season as the 13th forward."
- Grant McCagg
McCagg was careful to separate the player from the larger issue. He said he has no problem with Condotta, who he described as dependable and hard-working, and who has already been used by Montreal before. The concern is what it would say about the Canadiens’ offseason if he ends up as the fallback answer.
For a team coming off a run to the Eastern Conference Final and talking about taking another step, that would be a hard message to ignore. Many expected at least one offensive addition to deepen the bottom of the roster, but that never came. If Condotta is the default choice, it would stand as a clear sign of a quiet summer that didn’t deliver the reinforcement Montreal seemed to be searching for.
In Other News...
Lane Hutson Faces One Big Hurdle In Chasing NHL Respect
Lane Hutsons climb in the NHL has already forced plenty of people to rethink what a defenseman is supposed to look like, and the latest discussion around him centered on whether that sort of evolution can ever translate into the leagues top individual hardware. The conversation came up Wednesday night on The Sick Podcast, where the question was not whether Hutson belongs among the Canadiens most important players, but whether his size will keep him from getting the kind of external recognition that often follows elite blue-liners.
The uncertainty around the Norris Trophy speaks to a broader challenge smaller players have long faced in hockey, where reputation and perception can lag behind actual impact. Hutson has kept working to push past those old biases, but within the Canadiens room the bigger prize still matters most, with the focus firmly on winning the Stanley Cup rather than collecting trophies for one player along the way. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Prospect Aatos Koivu Is Drawing Bigger NHL Buzz Than Expected
Aatos Koivu is starting to generate more attention than most Canadiens prospects at his stage usually do, which is a pretty notable turn for a player still working through his development in Finlands Liiga. The buzz has come from the sense that Koivu has more upside than the typical depth option, with his skills drawing comparisons that suggest there may be more here than a simple organizational piece.
Still, the excitement comes with the usual prospect caution attached. Koivu remains early in the process, and his long-term path is still far from settled, which is why the next step matters so much for Montreal. For now, the more immediate question is whether he can continue building toward being useful in the AHL picture, where the Laval Rocket could eventually have a role for him if his game keeps trending the right way. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Tough Samuel Montembeault Decision
Samuel Montembeault is still in Montreal after Kent Hughes spent the summer exploring trade possibilities, but the conversation around the Canadiens goaltending has hardly gone quiet. With training camps opening and teams still taking stock of their depth charts, Montembeault remains one of the more interesting names on the market for a club that has been willing to listen, even if nothing materialized before now.
The latest wrinkle comes from Edmonton, where a sudden goaltending need has put the Oilers back into the mix as a possible fit. Hughes would have to weigh whether the timing is right to revisit that path, especially with cap space tight enough that any deal would likely need more than a simple one-for-one structure. For Montreal, it is another reminder that Montembeaults status is still fluid, and the question is whether the Canadiens want to keep managing that uncertainty or finally turn it into a move. [Read more 🡒]