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The Montreal Canadiens returned to the playoffs for the first time since losing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. They would fall to the Washington Capitals in the first round. The Canadiens still have a young core of players, led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Now, they look to make the next step in 2025-26, but need some of that young core to break out.
The Canadiens already made one massive move this offseason, as they traded with the New York Islanders for Noah Dobson. As they made an initial step to improve in 2024-25, they also had some young players make major improvements. Cole Caufield took another step forward in 24-25. He completed his second straight season playing all 82 games. Further, he set a career high in goals scored, finding the back of the net 37 times, while also amassing 70 points. He also had a plus-nine plus/minus rating, the first time with a positive plus/minus rating in his career.
He was not the only young player to make a major step in 2024-25. Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy, breaking out in his rookie season. Not only was he great on the blue line, but he also chipped in six goals while adding 60 helpers, sitting third on the team in points.
The roster is still young, with the average age of their forwards being just 25.7 years old heading into the 2025-26 campaign. Further, the defense is even younger, sitting at just 25 years old. Young players need to take the next step, and these are the three top candidates to break out in 2025-26.
Joshua Roy adds to the offense
Joshua Roy was the No. 150 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens winger broke into the NHL in 2023-24, playing in 23 games, with four goals and five assists. Then in 2024-25, he played primarily in the AHL, but spent 12 games with the NHL club, finding the back of the net twice.
Consistency has been a major issue so far in the career of the winger. Roy has a quick release on his shot and continues to improve his scoring ability. In 24-25, he scored 20 times in 47 games with the Laval Rockets. Still, many of those goals were scored in bunches, with long stretches of games without production.
If the 22-year-old winger can find consistency, he will break out this upcoming year. He has all the offensive skill needed to do that, with quality speed and playmaking ability. As his confidence grows, so will his consistency, which will make him a middle-six forward, and potentially a top-six forward during his career.
Juraj Slafkovsky takes the next step
Juraj Slafkovsky was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Canadiens. He broke into the NHL in 2022-23, playing in 39 games, lighting the lamp four times while adding six assists. In 2023-24, he played in all 82 games, finding the back of the net 20 times and adding 30 helpers. This led to the expectation that he would take a major step forward in 2024-25. He did not decline, but did not take the major step forward. He scored 18 goals while adding 33 assists in 79 games.
The next step in his game is to improve his goal scoring. His advanced statistics show that it may be coming, via naturalstattrick.com. He improved in both the creation of high-danger scoring chances and shooting percentage in 2024-25, while also having 19 fewer shots in the season. If he can return to his prior shot production and continue to improve at creating high-danger scoring chances, his goal numbers will jump drastically.
He is expected to play on the top line with Caufield and Suzuki again this year. If his goal scoring improves, this will be one of the most potent top lines in the NHL and will allow the Canadiens to make the next step.
Kaiden Guhle is the next blue line stud in Montreal
In the summer of 2024, the Canadiens signed Kaiden Guhle to a six-year contract. Now he will look to reward the front office for their faith in him. Guhle was the No. 16 overall pick of the team in the 2020 NHL Draft. When he broke into the NHL, his point production was fantastic. In 2022-23, he played in just 44 games but amassed 18 points. That is good for .41 points per game.
He would play in 70 games in 2023-24, but have just 22 points, or .31 points per game. He did improve in 2024-25, playing in 55 games, but with .33 points per game. His IPP, individual point production, has also declined in each successive season.
His defense has improved over the past three seasons, with higher hit rates and shot blocked rates each year. Now, if he can return to his prior offensive production while continuing his defensive improvement, he can be a top-level blue liner for this team. He is expected to be paired with Noah Dobson, which should also improve his offensive output.
The Canadiens took a major step forward in 2024-25, but if they want to continue their progression, they need one of their young stars to break out.
