Even if the Montreal Canadiens failed to reach the Stanley Cup final, they had a great season on so many fronts.
While the elimination at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes leaves a sour taste in the Montreal Canadiens’ players’ mouths, they can be proud of everything they have accomplished this season. Last season, they finished 16th overall in the league with 91 points; this season, they were fifth overall with 106 points. Their points percentage went from .555 to .646, and they were playing in the league's strongest division; three Atlantic Division teams were among the top six in the standings.
On an individual standpoint, their top four players all had career years. Captain Nick Suzuki became the first Canadiens player to score 100 points since Mats Naslund in 1986, a feat that hadn’t been achieved in 40 years. The centerman put up 101 points, a 12-point improvement on what had already been a career year in 2024-25.
Sniper Cole Caufield had 88 points, an 18-point improvement on the previous season, on top of reaching the 50-goal mark, a first in Montreal since Stephane Richer did it back in 1989-90. It’s also worth mentioning that he has become a scoring threat in many different ways; he doesn’t just score from one spot anymore and doesn’t solely rely on his one-timer.
Power forward Juraj Slafkovsky has bought in on what the team had been trying to sell him for years, using his big frame on the forecheck to retrieve pucks, feed his teammates and head to the net to see what he can pick up. The strategy led to a 73-point season (including 30 goals), a 22-point improvement on the previous one. More than the points, though, he also realized he was not necessarily just a complementary piece. He is a good player in his own right and can drive his own line, as he did when he skated alongside rookies Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.
As for blueliner Lane Hutson, he put up 12 more points for a total of 78, the third most productive season ever recorded by a Canadiens’ defenseman. Larry Robinson has the top two with 82 and 85 points, and he didn’t record those in his sophomore season. It’s not a question of if Hutson will beat his record; it’s a question of when.
Rookies Demidov (62 points) and Kapanen (37 points, including 22 goals) have had great rookie seasons, just like goaltender Jakub Dobes, who grabbed the number one goaltending role when he was finally given the opportunity and proved he could be very consistent in the playoffs.
More than anything, though, GM Kent Hughes proved that the players are buying what he’s selling. He signed both Hutson and Mike Matheson to team-friendly contracts, which bodes well for the team's future. In this cap space world, it’s important to maximize cap space, and when players are ready to take less money than they would have gotten on the free agency market, you’re in great shape. Furthermore, he hasn’t given much in the way of no-trade clauses, giving himself a lot of wiggle room for the future and not being handcuffed by pricy deals he cannot move on from. This rebuild is going well, and the organization is going full speed ahead.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable on The Hockey News.
Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here.