May 7, 2025 | 10:45am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

HABS AIM TO BE CREATIVE THIS OFF-SEASON

Kirby Dach, forward

Many will categorize the 2024-25 campaign as a successful one for the Montreal Canadiens.

The club was expected to make strides this season and play meaningful games down the stretch, but making the playoffs, combined with the development of rookies Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov, resulted in a very fruitful season with many declaring the future as tremendously bright in Montreal

Now, with their off-season ahead of them, management is expected to be aggressive and creative as they look to add pieces to the roster to compete harder next season.

During Monday’s edition of “The Latest” on TFP, David Pagnotta reported the Canadiens are expected to be active this summer as they look to add to their roster.

“They want to be a little bit more physical. They want to be a little beefier in this lineup. And the 2C position is a priority for this club in the off-season,” he said. “Now, we know there are a lot of usual suspects that are out there right now – we’re going to hear some bigger names as the off-season progresses, as we get closer to the draft – but what the Canadiens have done in the last little while, the last three years, was strategically utilize their draft capital and their cap space in order to pounce on certain circumstances. That’s how they got Patrick Laine, that’s how they got Alex Newhook, and that’s how they got Kirby Dach.

“Dach was supposed to be the 2C guy. That hasn’t worked out; he’s dealing with injuries. They’re going to go out and try to find somebody in that early-to-mid-20s range that can fit with the rest of this core. They’ve got a lot of cap space to play with over the course of this summer; money’s not going to be an issue for them, and they’re willing to move some of their draft capital and some of their prospects in order to get some immediate help.”

It is unclear whom the Habs may go after, but GM Kent Hughes will be casting a wide net in his search for upgrades.

“Because of this successful season, because of Ivan Demidov joining the club late, because of the breakout year from the rookie Lane Hutson, likely the rookie of the year, there’s a lot of positivity surrounding this club. The oldest guy at the core is the captain, Nick Suzuki. He’s still only 25. So, if they can insulate that even further, it’s going to be something that Habs are going to want to do.”