With the 2025-26 season set to begin on Tuesday in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens held their first practice with the 22 players who have convinced the organization that they should start the season with the Habs. It allowed us to catch a glimpse of what Martin St-Louis’ lineup should look like on Wednesday night when the Tricolore takes on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotia Bank Arena.
For those who like surprises, you’ll be disappointed. If there’s a certainty around the Sainte-Flanelle aside from death and taxes, it’s that Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky are the first line, and that hasn’t changed. Nor has the rest of the attack, aside from the fact that Zack Bolduc was back on the ice, taking over Joe Veleno’s spot alongside Kirby Dach and Brendan Gallagher, making Veleno the 13th forward. Jake Evans and Josh Anderson remained teamed up with Patrik Laine, while Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, and Ivan Demidov formed the other trio.
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Martin St-Louis said right from the start of training camp that they would be trying something and then see in which direction the team would be steered. It’s interesting that from his initial formation, which had Laine, Dach, and Demidov together, they’re all on different lines.
Speaking after practice, St-Louis said this was the deepest roster he has had since taking over the job, given not only the internal growth but also the fact that GM Kent Hughes went out of his way to get some help from the outside this offseason. While the coach is aware that he has to write the lines on the board and that they take turns at practice, he emphasizes the fact that there’s no argument over which is his first line, but as for the others? They are just different waves of attack, and they don’t really have to be numbered. In other words, he doesn’t want the media or the fans making a big deal of the fact that the Demidov line was the fourth one to take its reps on Monday morning.
The bench boss also repeated something he’s been saying for the last three weeks now:
It’s not because you’re a talented forward that you don’t have to play the even-strength game, that you don’t have to bring some sandpaper to the game. Collectively, we need to elevate that amount of sandpaper. Across all our lines, we have players who can do this more easily than others, but we ask all our players to do it.- St-Louis on the importance of playing a complete game
The man in charge also explained that there’s so little time spent on special teams in the game that it’s impossible for a player just to contribute there. Speaking about Laine, he explained:
I've looked at his last two preseason games, and his five-on-five play is the best I’ve seen.- St-Louis on Laine
That's probably the main reason the big Finn is still skating alongside Evans and Anderson, because St-Louis feels they are the ones who can get the best out of the sniper at even strength.
On the blueline, there were no surprises either, and unlike up front, the combinations we saw at the start of camp are the combinations we’re still seeing now. Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson are forming the first pairing, Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson are the second one, while Arber Xhekaj and Alex Carrier are the third, making Jayden Struble the odd-man out. In net, not that there’s a need to say it, but Samuel Montembeault is the undisputed starter and Jakub Dobes will be acting as his backup. Is this lineup stronger than the one that was eliminated in five games by the Washington Capitals last spring? Time will tell.
The Habs will practice once more in Brossard on Tuesday morning before heading to Toronto, and they won’t be back in town until the early hours of Sunday Morning. They’ll have three games in four nights to kick off the season, starting with a back-to-back with the Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings, before taking on the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. Their first home game will take place on Tuesday, October 14, against the Seattle Kraken.
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