With the Montreal Canadiens sliding down the standings towards another top-five pick, some attention has shifted to next season and its expectations. There’s a good chance that the team’s roster will look a bit different and feature some new and exciting names.
The Canadiens have lost five consecutive games and possess a record of 2-7-1 across their past 10 games. They currently sit at a season-low of six games below a .500 winning percentage, and now sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division as the Ottawa Senators recently leapfrogged them. They sit 27th in the NHL (second-to-last in the Eastern Conference ahead of only the Columbus Blue Jackets), which means they hold the sixth-best odds at the first overall pick in the upcoming draft.
Setting Expectations for 2024-25
With missing the playoffs (for the fourth consecutive season since their unlikely run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final) all but a foregone conclusion, many fans wonder when exactly the coaching staff, management, and players alike expect to compete for a spot in the postseason. The team seems to have stagnated from this season to last in terms of point totals, but has seen encouraging progression from building blocks of the future such as Juraj Slafkovsky, captain Nick Suzuki, and prospects such as Lane Hutson and Joshua Roy. Surely the team is hopeful to make a big jump from this season to the next.
Exactly what the 2024-25 Canadiens squad will look like is still undetermined. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, Kent Hughes and company will seek to potentially move out certain trade targets and acquire pieces to help streamline the rebuild. One thing is fairly certain about this team’s roster, and that is it will surely feature a bulk of young, up-and-coming players poised and ready to make an impact. The following is a glimpse at what the roster may look like on opening night of the 2024-25 NHL season.
Forward Group
Line 1
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Juraj Slafkovsky
Unsurprisingly, the Canadiens likely aim to keep the current top-line trio together. The chemistry displayed between Caufield and Suzuki has been blossoming for the better part of two seasons now, and they will likely finish as the team’s top two scorers. Their chemistry with Slafkovsky has skyrocketed the progression of the 2022 first-overall pick, scoring 17 points across 22 games since the new year. He had previously scored just eight points across the team’s first 36 games. This trio will stay intact going into 2025.
Line 2
Joshua Roy – Alex Newhook – Kirby Dach
Line two continues the youth movement in Montreal. Whether it will be Newhook or Dach at center is arbitrary; their positions on here are interchangeable. Dach has proven to be a staple in the Habs’ top-six prior to going down with an injury just two games into the season, scoring 38 points in just 58 games in 2022-23. His presence in an ideally fully healthy lineup is crucial. Throwing the 20-year-old Roy into the top-six may be a bold move, but the Quebec native has been steady to start his young NHL career, with five points across his first 13 games, sometimes playing with lower-calibre players. He has proven to be an offensive threat at every level thus far, highlighted by his impressive 32 points in 40 American Hockey League (AHL) games in his first season with the Laval Rocket. He has been seeing time alongside Newhook as of late.
Line 3
Josh Anderson – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Gallagher
The Canadiens’ projected third line is evidently the opposite of a youth movement — three aging players on not-so-great contracts. There was once hope among the fanbase that Anderson and Dvorak could turn into productive top-six scorers, but inconsistency from the former and injuries from the latter have all but squashed those hopes. Factors such as Gallagher and Dvorak’s leadership roles and Anderson’s anchor of a contract ensure that this trio will be property of the Canadiens beyond this season. This line still has the chance to be productive, but are certainly not a top-two forward line on a team with legitimate playoff aspirations.
Line 4
Rafael Harvey-Pinard – Jake Evans – Jesse Ylonen
This relatively young fourth line gives the team some offensive potential, rather than dressing the likes of Michael Pezzetta (likely the 13th forward in this scenario), or Tanner Pearson (who will likely depart in free agency). Harvey-Pinard scored at a 34-goal pace in 2022-23 playing with high-calibre players but has dealt with the injury bug this season. He won’t replicate that pace, but he adds some decent offensive flair. Evans has been a reliable bottom-six center for a few seasons now, and Ylonen may also benefit from playing with younger players with more offensive potential than the likes of Pearson or Joel Armia.
Scratches/Extras
Michael Pezzetta, Joel Armia, Sean Farrell
Any of these forwards can be inserted into the lineup should the above combinations struggle to connect. Pezzetta is the embodiment of a fourth-line energy player, Armia is on an expensive contract relative to his production and doesn’t have a clear-cut role with the club moving forward, and Farrell received a short NHL stint in 2022-23 and has impressed with the Rocket. The former Harvard product may work his way into and up the lineup as the season progresses. Mitchell Stephens and Emil Heineman are names to look out for should the team face some injuries.
Defence Group
Pairing 1
Mike Matheson – Kaiden Guhle
Much like the first forward line, expect more of the same in 2024-25 from the first defensive pairing. Matheson is the team’s clear-cut number one offensive defenceman, and has been paired with the young Kaiden Guhle as of late. Guhle has been defensively responsible while also being able to pack an offensive punch. He will continue to grow his game into next season.
Pairing 2
Arber Xhekaj – David Savard
This is a pairing opponents will likely hate to play against. Savard is an effective, level-headed defensive defenceman and the perfect veteran presence to complement the playing style of Xhekaj. Given Savard’s age and interest around the league, there is a small chance he won’t be a Hab past this season. However, it seems more likely that will happen after his contract expires. Xhekaj has proven to be a fan favourite, and isn’t afraid to chip in offensively with his cannon of a shot. Expect him to continue his progression into 2024-25.
Pairing 3
Lane Hutson – Jayden Struble
This young pairing may be the most exciting to watch as the 2024-25 season begins. Hutson will likely get a brief NHL stint at the end of this season, but won’t be expected to jump into a massive role. He is poised to receive time on the second power play unit, and will eventually be expected to man the first unit after enough seasoning. Expect the speedy defender to work his way into the top four throughout the season. Struble has impressed since being called up from Laval and has leapfrogged the likes of Justin Barron and Jordan Harris on the team’s depth chart.
Scratches/Extras
Johnathan Kovacevic, Justin Barron, Jordan Harris
Kovacevic, a bit older than the majority of the defensive corps, is likely to serve as a veteran presence and mentor to the team’s influx of young defencemen. The team likely still has expectations for Barron despite sending him down to the AHL midway through this season. Harris has been named in trade rumours as of late, so there’s a chance he may not be wearing a Habs uniform come opening night of next season. Keep an eye open for Logan Mailloux to get a call should the team run into more injury trouble.
Goaltending
Samuel Montembeault – Cayden Primeau
The Canadiens are extremely unlikely to carry three goaltenders going into next season, and the declining and aging Jake Allen is almost certainly the odd man out. Montembeault has earned the starting position, being the only Canadiens goalie with a winning record this season. Primeau will continue to gain valuable experience as his backup.
Related: Likeliest Canadiens on the Move as Harvey-Pinard Returns from Injury
The Canadiens will have heightened expectations going into the 2024-25 season, and missing the playoffs for a potentially fifth consecutive season will surely disappoint much of the fanbase. However, with a fully healthy squad and an influx of young players continuing to progress and elevate their game, a playoff spot is certainly not out of reach.