The Montreal Canadiens have some roster concerns entering the 2024-25 season. However, it's more of a concern about the future of their franchise than just this season. Montreal doesn't expect to be contenders this campaign, but their loaded prospect pipeline gives hope for playoff hockey at the Bell Centre very soon. The Canadiens feel secure with the future of their blue line, but there are some question marks up front and in the net that could bring stress eventually.
So, where do the Canadiens go from here? They drafted Juraj Slafkovsky with the first-overall pick in 2022, then took David Reinbacher and Ivan Demidov with back-to-back fifth-overall picks. Montreal has the deepest defense prospect pool in the entire league, boasting nine blueliners who could conceivably fit in the top six on this year's roster.
Canadiens fans don't like having mediocre teams. There's a sense of some impatience in Montreal with the team staring down one more year of rebuilding. Experts voted that the Canadiens would finish with the third-worst record in the NHL next season, via The Athletic. I find it hard to believe the Canadiens will be that bad, as they continue to improve and have finished better than that in two straight seasons.
One thing that could put the Canadiens that low is if they trade some of their pending unrestricted free agents. Montreal could see the writing on the wall early in the season and offload these contracts to guarantee a high draft pick.
Will Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook remain healthy?
The Canadiens wanted to get a glimpse of the future of their forward group in 2023-24. They added Kirby Dach in the 2022 offseason, and he recorded 38 points in 58 games in his inaugural season. Kent Hughes made another move in the 2023 offseason, adding former Stanley Cup Champion Alex Newhook from the Colorado Avalanche. The team believed that Dach and Newhook could join on the second line to supplement Suzuki, Caufield, and Slafkovsky.
Dach suffered a knee injury two games into the season, which sidelined him for the rest of the year. Newhook also had a leg injury, which kept him out for nearly half the season. The pair can be valuable in their top six, but the injury history is a concern. The Canadiens recognized they needed more forward depth to avoid trouble with those players in the future, so they made two smart draft choices with Demidov and Michael Hage.
Demidov and Hage look like possible top-six players, so there's a good chance the Canadiens will only need one of Dach or Newhook to play that role. However, if Dach can stay healthy and play in the middle of the second line, Newhook would give the Canadiens an advantage in a third-line matchup.
The savvy picks in the 2024 NHL Draft have solved the Canadiens offensive talent issue, but Newhook and Dach, showing they can stay healthy this year, would lift a massive weight off the shoulders of the front office.
Should the Canadiens throw their defense into the fire?
Reinbacher will continue under scrutiny in Montreal until he debuts and proves his worth. The drama around Reinbacher is that many fans wanted the team to pick Matvei Michkov. The Canadiens stayed away from Michkov because he was playing in Russia, and those players don't always decide to come to North America right away. The Canadiens had concerns that Michkov would stay in Russia for a while or, even worse, stay in Russia permanently.
The fans' worst fears came true this offseason when Michkov signed his entry-level deal and moved to North America. The Canadiens now have to dream about a scenario where they could have had Michkov and Demidov in their top six. Regardless, they now have to develop Reinbacher into a No. 1 defenseman.
The Canadiens plan to keep Reinbacher, Lane Hutson, and possibly Logan Mailloux in the American Hockey League next season. Hutson and Mailloux made their NHL debuts at the end of last season and didn't look out of place. However, Montreal can't fit them all in the lineup, with Mike Matheson and David Savard taking up two spots.
The question is whether the Canadiens should move Savard and Matheson and go with all young players on their backend. It isn't a good strategy for a contending team, but it could make sense for a team like the Canadiens. They could assemble their dream defensive group, have them grow together as a unit, and prepare to contend when Demidov and Hage make their NHL debuts.
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