2025-26 Montreal Canadiens discussion thread

[Prime Minister Koivu]

39 minutes ago, dlbalr said:

Today is the deadline to file for salary arbitration and the Habs have two players eligible - Struble and Dobes.  The full list hasn't been announced yet (the deadline is at the top of the hour) but it sounds like Struble on the list of those who have filed.

Doesn't necessarily mean anything as deals are often made right up to arbitration day. 
 

I still think Hughes plans on trading Struble anyway. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

On 7/4/2025 at 11:10 AM, DON said:

Was pulling for Habs to grab Thorpe's teammate at 81 or 82, who fell to end of 3rd round, is similar (higher rated he was) to Mooney they say.

Following in Gallagher's footsteps with nice 40g draft year.

 

I was also hoping they would grab him with one of their 3rd round picks, talented player and was all over the place in mock drafts, Mckenzie had him at 47. I guess the Habs decided that Pickford and Radkov were more to their liking or perhaps the position they played had something to do with it. 

[tomh009]

2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

I was also hoping they would grab him with one of their 3rd round picks, talented player and was all over the place in mock drafts, Mckenzie had him at 47. I guess the Habs decided that Pickford and Radkov were more to their liking or perhaps the position they played had something to do with it. 

Or they preferred Mooney based on their scouting evaluations?

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

58 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

Or they preferred Mooney based on their scouting evaluations?

I was referring more to their picks at 81 and 82. They took Mooney at 113 and by then Schmidt was gone so impossible to say if they preferred one to the other.

[tomh009]

42 minutes ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

I was referring more to their picks at 81 and 82. They took Mooney at 113 and by then Schmidt was gone so impossible to say if they preferred one to the other.

... or they expected Mooney to drop more yet, so they grabbed Pickford and Radkov in the third round. This is just speculation, though, I have no insider info on their thinking.

[DON]

Pronman has Habs picking 8th next year.

I dont think they will be that bad. 

 

2026 NHL Mock Draft: Gavin McKenna is No. 1 in Corey Pronman’s way-too-early projection - The Athletic

8. Montreal: Xavier Villeneuve, LHD, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
Villeneuve was one of the best defensemen in the QMJHL this season. He’s a dynamic offensive player. He’s an elite skater with the clear edge work and foot speed of a top NHL defender. He’s also a super creative and intelligent puck-mover who makes a lot of plays. He can beat opponents one-on-one off the rush and make creative plays with pace. He’s also an excellent, patient passer who can create a lot off the blue line. Scouts’ main concerns with Villeneuve will be without the puck. He’s a small defenseman who doesn’t play very hard at times.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

8 minutes ago, DON said:

Pronman has Habs picking 8th next year.

I dont think they will be that bad. 

 

2026 NHL Mock Draft: Gavin McKenna is No. 1 in Corey Pronman’s way-too-early projection - The Athletic

8. Montreal: Xavier Villeneuve, LHD, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
Villeneuve was one of the best defensemen in the QMJHL this season. He’s a dynamic offensive player. He’s an elite skater with the clear edge work and foot speed of a top NHL defender. He’s also a super creative and intelligent puck-mover who makes a lot of plays. He can beat opponents one-on-one off the rush and make creative plays with pace. He’s also an excellent, patient passer who can create a lot off the blue line. Scouts’ main concerns with Villeneuve will be without the puck. He’s a small defenseman who doesn’t play very hard at times.

8TH !!!

 

Maybe 28th

[DON]

3 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

8TH !!!

 

Maybe 28th

WELL, i would go with somewhere between those 2 results, but like your optimism. 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Somewhat interesting…

 

Handel is clearly a psychopath 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

1 hour ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

 

Handel is clearly a psychopath 

 

Yes, that's why he was drafted before the other guys.  LOL

[dlbalr]

9 hours ago, DON said:

Pronman has Habs picking 8th next year.

I dont think they will be that bad. 

 

There's a disclaimer in there that says the order is based on betting lines so whichever betting site they pulled that from is to blame.

[DON]

If possibly trading Matheson before contract runs out, would adding some more experience be needed (or just be done mid-season also?), with very young defense maybe adding an old LH-d?

 

"At 38, Vlasic is no longer the shutdown beast he was in his prime. You’d have to go back to pre-pandemic times to find the last evidence of him playing competent top-four minutes. Making matters worse is that he’s dealt with injuries over the last couple of years.

With that said, perhaps there’s still a world where Vlasic can be a depth No. 7 defender. A fresh start on a non-lottery team could rejuvenate his game. He can still kill penalties and could also be a valuable leader and mentor for younger defensemen. And his next contract will likely be so cheap that if it doesn’t work out, you can always bury him in the minors without any salary-cap implications."

Depth NHL free-agency targets: The 12 best players on the secondary market - The Athletic

 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

18 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Somewhat interesting…

 

Handel is clearly a psychopath 

 

Interesting that our prospects all appear to be kindergarteners 

[tomh009]

10 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Interesting that our prospects all appear to be kindergarteners 

Apparently this is not one of the drafting criteria! 

[DON]

 

Jeff Gorton feels Canadiens added talent to their core, but more could be coming - The Athletic

 

You’re trying to manage all these things, and you don’t want a lesser player that is not as good as somebody else walking in making way more money than another guy. Because it’s real, right? So those things, when agents argue for percentage of the cap, percentage of the cap, percentage of the cap, it can be a little too much for me. Generally speaking, that’s an argument for the better players.”

 

... you don’t generally see a lot of movement for the first 20 games. People want to see what they have. I don’t see that changing. I could be crazy, but the curious part is probably the next few weeks to see if there’s a secondary market that evolves. People didn’t get what they wanted,...

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

27 minutes ago, DON said:

 

Jeff Gorton feels Canadiens added talent to their core, but more could be coming - The Athletic

 

You’re trying to manage all these things, and you don’t want a lesser player that is not as good as somebody else walking in making way more money than another guy. Because it’s real, right? So those things, when agents argue for percentage of the cap, percentage of the cap, percentage of the cap, it can be a little too much for me. Generally speaking, that’s an argument for the better players.”

 

... you don’t generally see a lot of movement for the first 20 games. People want to see what they have. I don’t see that changing. I could be crazy, but the curious part is probably the next few weeks to see if there’s a secondary market that evolves. People didn’t get what they wanted,...

 

I think there is the late August, early September trade market but that tends to be depth moves. 
 

Wouldn’t mind being surprised with a 2C trade though 

[Commandant]

I get the feeling that they still believe in Dach, but don't want to put too much pressure on him with their public statements either. 

[GHT120]

8 minutes ago, Commandant said:

I get the feeling that they still believe in Dach, but don't want to put too much pressure on him with their public statements either. 

I would suggest slightly qualifying that ... having been unable to obtain an appropriate 2C (long-term or band-aid), they believe that Dach has the skillset necessary to succeed if he can stay healthy and therefore is their best option, so they don't want to put too much pressure on him with their public statements. 

[Commandant]

2 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

I would suggest slightly qualifying that ... having been unable to obtain an appropriate 2C (long-term or band-aid), they believe that Dach has the skillset necessary to succeed if he can stay healthy and therefore is their best option, so they don't want to put too much pressure on him with their public statements. 

 

Yeah i agree with that. 

 

I think they aren't going to get a 2C just to get a 2C.  They don't want Rossi.  They don't want someone older.  If those are the options they want to stick with Dach at least one more year. 

That said, if suddenly Mason McTavish or other young centre became available for trade (and no I don't believe current rumours which are questionably sourced), but if someone like that was available, they would change their mind on things. 

So they have faith in Dach, but its not unlimited.  If a certain specific option was available (young C with size), they would try to pounce.  But keep in mind the competition for such a player would be fierce as 15 teams at least would want him.

[tomh009]

1 hour ago, Commandant said:

I think they aren't going to get a 2C just to get a 2C.  They don't want Rossi.  They don't want someone older.  If those are the options they want to stick with Dach at least one more year. 

At least not Rossi at $7M AAV ...

[GHT120]

1 hour ago, Commandant said:

Yeah i agree with that. 

 

I think they aren't going to get a 2C just to get a 2C.  They don't want Rossi.  They don't want someone older.  If those are the options they want to stick with Dach at least one more year. 

That said, if suddenly Mason McTavish or other young centre became available for trade (and no I don't believe current rumours which are questionably sourced), but if someone like that was available, they would change their mind on things. 

So they have faith in Dach, but its not unlimited.  If a certain specific option was available (young C with size), they would try to pounce.  But keep in mind the competition for such a player would be fierce as 15 teams at least would want him.

 

My garbage collector's, cousin's, hairdresser's, boyfriend's, neighbour's, Amazon-driver's, dog-walker says Tage Thompson wants to play in Montreal ... he swears it's true.

[GHT120]

2 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

At least not Rossi at $7M AAV ...

I would more concerned about his size come "play-off hockey" ... a 60-point centre is probably $7M AAV with the rising salary cap ceiling

[DON]

good and not s much.

Breaking down Noah Dobson: What he brings and how he fits with Canadiens - The Athletic

 

One of the most noticeable improvements from year to year was what a workhorse he became with his breakout ability. According to Corey Sznajder’s tracking at All Three Zones, Dobson emerged as one of the best puck retrievers in the league, with 24.5 per 60. For context, that stacks up to players such as Rasmus Dahlin and Luke Hughes. While there were some mistakes along the way, he still turned a lot of those retrievals into exits to help push the Islanders out of their own zone.

 

Defensemen get caught flat-footed and puck-watching all the time. Mistakes are bound to happen in a high-paced league filled with scoring threats. However, the number of errors from Dobson was concerning last year, especially for someone asking for such a sizable raise. Technically, he was on the ice for fewer shots and expected goals against at five-on-five this past year, compared to 2023-24. But his fingerprints were on more goals against, which made his errors all the more glaring.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Dobson’s stats show significant upside with glaring weakness. 
 

From fan perspective I’m guessing Dobson will be thought of as Matheson. A really great player that takes too much crap