The Montreal Canadiens have spent the last two seasons making life miserable for the Florida Panthers. That edge, though, may be a lot harder to find this year.
Montreal has beaten Florida in seven straight meetings, and that run helped fuel back-to-back playoff seasons. Last year’s season series tilted heavily the Canadiens’ way, with Montreal outscoring the Panthers 13-7.
One January game ended 6-2, while the other two matchups never reached regulation. The April meeting was settled in a shootout, and the December game went to overtime.
The year before, the Canadiens were even more dominant. In 2024-25, they faced the Panthers four times and won all four, piling up a 14-5 scoring edge.
Montreal opened with a 4-0 shutout, then added wins of 3-1 at home and 4-2 in Florida in March before closing the season series with another 4-2 victory at the Bell Centre. At the time, Florida was the two-time defending champion, so handling that team the way Montreal did was a major confidence boost for a young roster.
This version of the Panthers looks even tougher to deal with. General manager Bill Zito added more bite to a team that already had plenty of it, and the biggest splash came when Brady Tkachuk landed in Florida after forcing his way out of Ottawa.
He joins his brother Matthew and Brad Marchand, who is still producing at age 38. Marchand put up 54 points in 52 games last season, while Brady Tkachuk played only 31 games because of injury but still managed 34 points.
Those three bring plenty of edge, and they know how to get under an opponent’s skin.
Florida also added depth down the middle on July 1 by signing former Canadien Lars Eller to a one-year, $850,000 deal. Eller won’t be counted on for offense, but he brings reliability and defensive responsibility.
The Panthers also moved to replace A.J. Greer’s physical presence by trading for Garnet Hathaway, though Hathaway is not expected to match Greer’s production.
On defense, Zito kept loading up on heaviness by signing Radko Gudas. He may be a third-pairing piece, but he brings the kind of physical punishment that wears teams down. The Panthers gave him a long-term deal, then spread out the money to bring his cap hit to $1.5 million.
There are still moving parts in Florida. The Panthers have just $1,221,786 in cap space and still need a backup goaltender.
They did not re-sign Sergei Bobrovsky, instead trading for Jacob Markstrom, whose $6 million cap hit runs through the next two seasons. Markstrom is coming off a rough year in which he won 23 games with a 3.07 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage, but he has won his last four games against Montreal.
Florida also brought in Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights, though he is currently an RFA and has filed for arbitration. Those hearings are scheduled from July 20th to August 1st, which should give the Panthers some clarity in net. Depending on how that plays out, Zito may need to make another move, since teams can go over the cap in the offseason but must be compliant when the season begins.
For Montreal, the challenge is obvious. Kent Hughes has not yet addressed any of the Canadiens’ offseason needs, and the list is still long: a top-six forward, ideally a center but a winger would do if he can make an impact, a top-four right-shot defenseman, and more grit for the bottom six.
The gap between the two teams is hard to miss. The Hurricanes’ control of their third-round series only reinforced that reality, and Hughes has plenty of futures to work with.
The problem, as he has pointed out, is that there just are not many rebuilding teams looking for what he has to offer. That makes his job tougher, especially with other general managers not eager to help the Canadiens after their run to the Eastern Conference Final last season.
Still, if Montreal wants to keep moving forward, Hughes will have to find a way. Organic growth can only carry a team so far.
In Other News...
Penguins Fans Wont Love This Familiar Top Six Trade Rumor
The Canadiens are still sorting through two separate fronts as the offseason moves along, and both speak to how they want to shape the roster around their young core. Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com said Montreal has been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Penguins forward Bryan Rust, a reminder that the club is still looking for help up front while weighing how aggressive it wants to be in the market.
At the same time, Kirby Dachs contract situation remains unresolved, with Montreal viewing him as part of its future while trying to land on a deal that fits its plans before the arbitration hearing. The ongoing ations add another layer to a summer that already has the Canadiens balancing immediate roster needs against longer-term flexibility, and it is not hard to see why this one could keep evolving before anything is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Dach Situation Suddenly Looks Like A Big Win For Canadiens
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For Montreal, the appeal is obvious: avoid arbitration, settle the file, and move on without dragging the matter deeper into the summer. Dach may be willing to take a salary below $4 million if it comes with the security of a one-way deal, but the details still have to line up, and until they do, there is at least some room for the situation to shift again. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Added Another Name To A Crowded Bottom Six Battle
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Berard also came to Montreal in a trade that sent defensive prospect William Trudeau to the Rangers, so this was more than a simple depth signing. The next question is where he fits once the season gets here, because the Canadiens can stash him in Laval with the Rocket or let him battle for a fourth-line opening if he makes enough noise in camp. [Read more 🡒]