2025/2026 Habs: More holes than Swiss cheese?

We know the kool-aid comes around around the same time every year. The golf tournament is usually when the largest doses are poured down both media and fans' throats.

"We are pumped" "I trained super hard this past summer i'm in the best shape of my career" "We're a tight group" "We feel like we're ready to take the next step". And bla, bla , bla. And new this year "the players spent a lot of time together in Montreal this summer".

Rinse and repeat every year (not to mention the same stuff is typically regurgitated everywhere else in the league.)

So do I think the Canadiens had a poor off season? That they didn't improve their roster significantly, as many supporters (fans and media alike) seem to claim?

Perhaps they did add some talent, but let's not kid ourselves folks, there are still more holes here than in a pasta strainer.

Take for example the center position. Although I never thought I would one day say this, but Christian Dvorak will be greatly missed. Fact is, as maligned as he was, the dude won faceoffs (which is kind of a big thing in hockey). He had size, and he played with an edge. At the very least he was way better equipped to center a third line than the current option that is being tried at camp (Alex Newhook). Not only that but Newhook is much more comfortable on the wing.

Dvorak and Armia were also a formidable force on the PK, a 1-2 punch you could count on. An Army was a responsible two-way winger with size, who also protected the puck and won battles along the boards. Heck, even Emil Heinemann was a relentless forechecker who we didn't replace.

And let's be brutally honest: our D core, although fast and talented, is far from elite in their defensive zone coverage (Matheson, Dobson, Hutson or Xhekaj are not exactly Aaron Ekblad , Jacob Slavin or Alex Pietrangelo in their own zone) and so I think this team will be giving up a LOT of grade-A scoring chances throughout the season.

So while we may have added some offense in the form of Dobson and Bolduc, we certainly lost gritty forwards who were relentless on the forecheck. I believe our PK is at risk of going from a key strength to a monumental concern.

We still have no second line. A returning paraplegic in Dach (who most would agree is ill-equipped to be a 2C, heck even a 3C, given his pitiful faceoff percentage, and lack of defensive awareness), a sloppy, at times indifferent, and mostly slow-as-molasses Patrick Laine (who claimed to be in fantastic form and promised he would be "moving his feet" a lot more but still looks stuck in quicksand), are not capable of complementing young phenom Ivan Demidov (who will undoubtedly have some growing pains). This is a match not made in heaven (and that could turn into hell), and it's unlikely this trio stays intact beyond a game or two.

And at this stage of the year where every team believes they are either a contender or could be playoff-bound, it's unlikely that any marquee player at center will magically become available. This should have been dealt with during the summer.

Unfortunately it seems this management is unwilling to part with legit young prospects or roster players. Word on the street this summer, was that the Canadiens were dangling players like Roy, Beck, perhaps Engstrom or Kapanen in the hopes of finding, well, a sucker. But there were no suckers to be had. These are b-level prospects at best. And they won't entice any credible GM. The reality is Reinbacher or Michael Hage, perhaps a Jacob Fowler, or a Jakub Dobes, would have to be part of any potentially interesting package, and the Habs' brass seems intend on keeping all four. So expect the status quo, at least for the foreseeable future.

Could the Canadiens take a step back this season, perhaps even miss the playoffs?

Sadly, I think it's entirely possible, and, no matter what management claims ("we won't jeopardize the future" "ok if we plateau or regress slightly for a year, we care about the long term"), don't kid yourselves: this would be a monumental failure, and heads may indeed begin to roll.

For now, let's hope this team can stay competitive till US Thanksgiving and that teams with the pieces the Canadiens need will start to slip to the point where they would entertain trading with the Habs. But, still, you won't get a 2 C with an offer of Joshua Roy, Owen Beck and a bag of pucks!