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Top 3 Questions Faced By The Canadiens At Training Camp
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- Top 3 Questions Faced By The Canadiens At Training Camp
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Montreal Canadiens are clearly a team on the rise, adding an extra element of pressure as they prepare to open the upcoming season.
Improving on their 2025-26 results will not be easy. The Habs not only finished sixth in the standings with 106 points but also reached the Eastern Conference Final, where they were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes .
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Taking the next step will prove difficult. NHL history is littered with strong teams that made noise in the playoffs yet ultimately failed to capture Lord Stanley's grail.
To improve their odds of reaching the Stanley Cup Final, the Habs will need to start the season on the right foot. Several issues, however, still need to be resolved during training camp.
Solving The Goaltending Situation
Who will guard the net for the Canadiens this season?
As it stands, the Canadiens currently have three goaltenders in the lineup, which is a recipe for disaster in a professional hockey league.
Goalies need a high level of focus to prepare for games, which depends on a clear understanding of their role and value within the organization. On a practical level, they also require stability in their schedules.
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Simply put, leaving a goaltender uncertain about their next start is never a wise approach.
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes knows the risks of carrying too many goalies at the NHL level. He saw it firsthand in 2022-23, when the team kept Samuel Montembeault , Cayden Primeau , and Jake Allen in the NHL for most of the season.
He has stated that having three netminders at camp is perfectly acceptable for the time being, but he has no interest in beginning the season with Montembeault, Jakub Dobes , and Jacob Fowler competing for starts.
Kent Hughes says he's fine with starting camp with three goalies. The season? No.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) September 14, 2026
The easiest solution would be trading Montembeault to another team, but the reality of the NHL trade market is that the supply of goaltenders far exceeds demand. Moving a goalie is difficult even after a solid season, and that is certainly not the case for Montembeault, who posted a .872 save percentage in 25 starts last year.
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There is a chance that a series of injuries around the league could open the door for a trade, or even a waiver claim if the Canadiens expose him. Most teams, however, already have cheaper and often better options available within their organizations.
If the Habs cannot move Montembeault, they may opt to send Fowler to the AHL, where he would be guaranteed a heavier workload and the chance to gain valuable experience in an ideal development environment. Fowler looked solid last season despite his limited experience, but he has still only played 47 regular-season games between the Canadiens and the Rocket.
Sending the younger goalie down would go against a pure meritocracy, yet it would buy the organization more time to resolve the goaltending situation while providing greater stability at both the NHL and AHL levels.
Second Line Centre
Which centre will play in the top six?
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With the addition of winger Chris Kreider , it is becoming clear that the Canadiens will enter the upcoming season with largely the same group of centres. There is some salary-cap space available, but not enough to acquire a true No. 2 centre, leaving head coach Martin St-Louis with several imperfect options down the middle of the ice .
Jake Evans and Phillip Danault are defensive specialists and therefore poorly suited to top-six roles. Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook , meanwhile, struggle to win faceoffs, another mark against them for the top-six pivot position.
Oliver Kapanen is the most obvious candidate, given his previous experience playing alongside Ivan Demidov . Their underlying numbers, however, were far from ideal.
Fortunately, they controlled the goals (47-39, 54.7%) while they were on the ice, but their share of shots (44.4%), expected goals (45.1%), and high-danger scoring chances (44.6%) suggest there's a clear-cut issue in the process at 5v5.
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Adding Kreider to the second line should help; historically, he posts strong underlying numbers. Still, some shuffling in the top six is likely, particularly if Kapanen endures another scoring drought like the one that closed out the 2025-26 season. He was held off the scoresheet for the final 10 regular-season games and the seven playoff games in which he appeared.
You don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, especially since Kapanen managed to score 22 goals as a rookie last season. At the same time, Demidov's influence cannot be overlooked. No other Canadiens centre enjoyed more high-danger scoring chances per 60 than Kapanen, a clear testament to Demidov's elite playmaking ability.
Defensive Opportunity
Who will earn a job on the blue line?
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Kaiden Guhle is expected to miss the start of the season after yet another injury that required surgery. While there is no reason to criticize his willingness to put his body on the line night after night, his injury history cannot be ignored.
The Canadiens cannot afford to rush him back into the lineup, no matter how eager Guhle may be to return. In this case, patience is required from both the team and the player.
Guhle's absence opens the door for several young defencemen, David Reinbacher , Adam Engstrom , and Arber Xhekaj , all of whom are eager to secure a permanent NHL role.
Reinbacher brings the strongest pedigree and Xhekaj the greatest physicality, yet Engstrom has produced the best numbers during his brief but encouraging NHL audition. He offers the highest offensive upside, and his elite skating would place him among the league's better skaters, aligning perfectly with the high-tempo style preferred by St-Louis.
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All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick .
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