BROSSARD, Que. — We’re not sure how much better it could’ve gone for the Montreal Canadiens through a little more than half a season, especially with injuries to so many key players and mostly subpar goaltending.
But without Kaiden Guhle and Patrik Laine for all but five games, without Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook for the last seven weeks, without Jake Evans for most — and Josh Anderson for part — of their recent seven-game road trip, and without Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes proving strong between the pipes, the Canadiens posted the seventh-best points percentage (.619) in the NHL through their first 42 games.
They haven’t been perfect, but they’ve put themselves exactly where they hoped to be when the season began in October.
The results have been driven by talent. There’s more of it than there has been in Montreal in decades.
Nick Suzuki is over a point per game, Lane Hutson is right there, Cole Caufield has 20 goals and 20 assists, Ivan Demidov leads all rookies in points with 35, Oliver Kapanen is second among rookies in goals (13) and Juraj Slafkovsky has become a force.
That the Canadiens can rely on all of them, as well as others, bodes well for their second half.
The team’s potential to improve feels high, too.
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes is hoping they cash in on it.
“I hope we’ll continue to become better defensively and offensively,” said Hughes on Tuesday. “I find we score a lot. We give (up) a lot, too. But if you look at the advanced statistics, it’s a bit contradictory in that we’re getting a lot better defensively than we are offensively.
“But we have a lot of talent, so it appears as though we’re able to capitalize more on scoring chances than maybe other teams.”
There’s reason to believe that’ll continue.
And with players on the mend and goaltending stabilizing, the Canadiens’ continuing to chase the Atlantic Division lead and maintaining playoff positioning feels achievable.
Key stats
Record: 23-13-6 (3rd in the Atlantic Division, 7th in the NHL)
Goals per game: 3.31 (5th in the NHL)
Goals against per game: 3.26 (10th in the NHL)
Power play: 23.8 per cent (8th in the NHL)
Penalty kill: 77.6 per cent (23rd in the NHL)
Best surprise
When the Canadiens picked up Alexandre Texier after his contract with the St. Louis Blues was terminated, all they were banking on was him bringing 220 games of NHL experience to the league’s youngest lineup.
For $1 million, prorated, if the 26-year-old could do just that to help steady the bottom six while Newhook, Dach and Laine continued to heal from long-term injuries, it would’ve justified his contract.
But Texier has performed above expectations through 20 games with the Canadiens, all but guaranteeing he’ll get many more with the team even when the injured players return. He has three goals, eight points and one shootout winner, he’s played on both special-teams units and on three of four lines, and he’s shown the skill and work ethic needed to revive his NHL career.
It was practically in ruins in St. Louis, where Texier sat out almost as much as he played.
It was unthinkable to the Blues that the 26-year-old would turn it around to the degree he has in Montreal, but the Canadiens believed Texier might.
Still, even they have to be surprised with what he’s given them so far.
Biggest disappointment
Montembeault would be the first to say it was his play, and no one would argue.
To see Montembeault go from starter to third-stringer played the biggest role in the Canadiens allowing as many goals as they scored through the first 42 games (141).
It was particularly disappointing to see Montembeault go from fifth in goals saved above expected in 2024-25 to not being able to stop most the shots you’d expect him to stop in 2025-26.
The traditional numbers weren’t just disappointing; they were horrific. Montembeault’s goals-against average was 3.48, which was seventh-worst among goaltenders who have appeared in at least 13 games, and his .865 save percentage was better than precisely no one’s.
One silver lining, though, is that, after an eight-day conditioning stint in the American Hockey League, Montembeault returned to the Canadiens, played great and won both his starts (against the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars).
If he continues down that road, it will enable the Canadiens to end their three-goaltender rotation.
“Ideally, we won’t have three goalies long-term,” Hughes said, but he knows two will have to prove steady over the coming days for the Canadiens to reduce the goals against considerably.
The GM also knows that given Montembeault’s experience versus Dobes’ and Jacob Fowler’s, it would be ideal if he was one of them.
“We feel happy and confident he’s regained his form,” said Hughes.
He couldn’t have been too pleased or confident in what Montembeault provided before his last two starts.
Big question for the second half
How aggressive can Hughes be ahead of the trade deadline?
The incentive is there for the GM to take some swings, even if he doesn’t swing for the fences.
As Hughes said, the Canadiens are ahead of schedule in their rebuild but still missing “lots” beyond just experience to be considered a Stanley Cup contender.
And even if he said he’d like to nudge them closer to that status by acquiring another top-six forward and rounding out his lineup with size, physicality and winning experience, he noted his ability to do so depends on several factors beyond his control.
The most obvious one is how tight the standings are.
Nearly every team is still in the playoff race, and very few, if any, have signaled they’re bowing out of it and preparing to sell off players.
“I’d have thought Pittsburgh could be a team headed towards a rebuild, but right now they’re in the playoffs,” said Hughes. “There are some teams outside of the playoffs, but they’ve already been in the process of rebuilding for long enough. So, I’m expecting the trade deadline could be quieter than it’s been in recent years.
“I think the playoff cap could also have a cooling effect.”
It would for the Canadiens, who have several players on injury reserve but none in danger of missing the rest of the season and the playoffs.
That doesn’t give them very much flexibility as a team that’s already up against the $95.5-million cap.
Still, Hughes made it clear he’d be compelled to add, even if it were purely for the short term, like it was when he traded for Phillip Danault in December.
“It’s going to come down to who’s available, at what cost,” said Hughes. “And if we’re acquiring a more experienced player that can help us in the here and now more so than in the future, what kind of commitment are we making to that player? Are we acquiring a guy with four or five years left? Are we acquiring a guy with a year left? What do we look like a month from now health-wise and everything else with an Olympic break for some, not all, obviously?
“The longer we can wait to make that decision, the better off we are, unless something arrives between now and then that’s too good to turn down,” Hughes added.
If nothing does arrive and the deadline plays out as quietly as Hughes expects, he can still rely on the players who are injured coming back and making an impact.
Hughes must plan for that cap-wise, and he must also be mindful of not blocking some of the talent emerging through the Canadiens’ system.
Michael Hage — who dominated the world juniors, scoring 15 points to help Team Canada to a bronze medal — is a talented player he’d want to leave space for.
As Hughes mulls over other moves between now and the deadline, he will also have to consider keeping some space for Alexander Zharovsky to join the team once the player’s KHL contract expires at the end of next season.
Meanwhile, with so much talent in the system beyond Hage and Zharovsky, Hughes is expecting his phone to blow up at some point before March.
He said it’s not exactly ringing off the hook right now.
“But if there are teams that decide to sell, we’re a team they’d want to speak to because we have a lot of prospects and several picks,” Hughes added.
