September 25, 2025 | 2:00pm ET
By David Calabretta | TheFourthPeriod.com
FOUR BOLD HABS PREDICTIONS IN 2025-26
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Nick Suzuki, centre
MONTREAL, QC — Summer may be over, but the sun is still shining in Montreal after a successful playoff berth, followed by an exciting off-season that was highlighted by trading for star defenceman Noah Dobson and young homecomer Zachary Bolduc.
The Canadiens’ expectation in 2025-26 is to be in the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
With training camp well underway, I’ll dive into my five bold – like, really bold – predictions for this upcoming Habs season:
Another Xhekaj in the mix
In 2022, Arber Xhekaj stood out at Canadiens training camp and managed to earn himself a fulltime position with the team as the club announced their 23-man roster. This time, I think it can be his brother’s turn – Florian Xhekaj, Montreal’s fourth-round draft selection in the 2023 NHL Draft.
After an impressive rookie season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL, Florian potted 24 goals for the minor league club. He skated into camp feeling much more confident, adding 15 pounds of muscle, in which he gives thanks to Momma Xhekaj.
The 6-foot 3 winger knows what it will take to make the roster. With the Habs already having enough star power upfront, he would like to partake in a role like other players on past Stanley Cup contending rosters, such as Tom Wilson and Sam Bennett.
“Everyone watches playoffs. It’s big-boy hockey. It’s physical out there and everyone’s trying to hit everything, and you’ve got to be willing to put your body on the line for the team,” Florian said. “I try to play like that every single game, even in the regular-season. I think that’s something I bring.
“It’s an edge. I’m a normal guy out here, very friendly. But on the ice, I flip a switch and want to win. I don’t want to lose any puck battle or race. Every shift, I’m trying to prove something.”
The younger Xhekaj netted a goal on Tuesday’s pre-season win over the Philadelphia Flyers and dropped the gloves against NHL veteran Nic Deslauries, as he continues to shine at Habs camp. Whether it is in October or later in the season, I envision another Xhekaj to be added to the mix and wear the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge as a permanent roster player.
87 Comes to Montreal
Since the Marc Bergevin Era, the Canadiens organization has been searching for that true No.2 center, and while Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes haven’t exactly given up on the injury ridden Kirby Dach, there is no secret that they have been searching for one this summer. Nothing, however, materialized given the stale market in the middle.
I predict Montreal will acquire a second line centre sometime this season. More specifically, I look for them to acquire Cole Harbour’s very own Sidney Crosby.
While it sounds like a fever dream, the Pittsburgh Penguins can very well find themselves at the bottom of the NHL standings this season, and that may trigger a trade for the long-time captain and hockey legend Sidney Crosby as Penguins GM Kyle Dubas and company seek to get their hands on, and bolster their chances for, hockey phenom Gavin McKenna in the 2026 NHL Draft.
While Crosby has stated his desire to remain a Penguin, his agent Pat Brisson’s comments to The Athletic earlier this month were telling.
“We want Sidney to hopefully be in the playoffs every year,” Brisson said. “We want him to hopefully win another Cup or two. So each year the team that he’s playing for fails to make the playoffs, it creates a lot of speculation. In reality, he’s not getting any younger. We’re here to support him. It’s the beginning of the season here. Let’s see how things are going. Hopefully they have a great season and the speculation will go away.
“Let’s put it this way, it’s always a possibility, you know? It’s been three years they haven’t made the playoffs. It all depends on how Sid is going to be and how the team is going to do. I maintain the same position that I do believe that he should be playing playoff hockey every year. In my opinion.”
‘The Kid’ has previously stated that his favourite team growing up was the Canadiens, however, shall he be available for trade, it would be hard to discount the pull to join his good buddy Nate Mackinnon and the Colorado Avalanche.
Nick Suzuki hits 100 points
There’s always that bold, out of the blue player in every single season that hits or comes close to the 100-point mark. Last year, it was Kyle Connor, who just shy with 97 points, or two years ago being Tage Thompson’s 99-point season.
This year can Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki, who ended the 2024-25 season on an extremely strong note, finishing 3rd in the NHL in points after the Four Nations Faceoff break and leading the young team to the playoffs, be that player?
After being snubbed from Team Canada last February, expect the 26-year-old to make some noise in the first half of the season as he seeks to make the squad in Milano for the 2026 Winter Olympics. After getting 89 points last season, with rookie Ivan Demidov, a healthy Patrik Laine, newly arrived Dobson and a hungry Cole Caufield, it’s not out of the picture for No.14 to get 11 more points than he previously did last season.
Slafkovsky breaks out
You can argue Slafkovsky has broken out before, gaining his nickname “Second Half Slaf” for the last two seasons, but after constructive criticism from head coach Martin St. Louis as the Canadiens opened camp, hoping he would get started from the get-go, that can be just enough motivation as the Slovakian is entering the first year of his $60.8 million contract signed last summer.
St. Louis recently shared some comments on how he wants the 21-year-old to approach this season.
“You can’t please everyone. He’s not 18 anymore, he’s older, more mature, and he has more experience,” he said.
“How do you measure if someone is hungry? It’s by urgency. It’s today, it’s now; it starts right away.”
While slow starts have become a custom to Slafkovsky’s short NHL career, that tale has run thin within the Canadiens’ management, and he knows it to.
After a decent showing in the NHL playoffs versus the Washington Capitals and a solid end to the season, Slafkovsky has shown he can be a dominant player in the league, it’s just a matter of time until his breakout begins, and I think it will start in October.
Canadiens finish Top 3 in Atlantic
I’ll end it off with a team prediction: I think the Canadiens will finish in the Top 3 in the Atlantic, and this may not be as crazy as the other predictions listed above.
The Habs were analytically one of the worst defensive NHL teams last season yet found a way to sneak themselves into a playoff spot. Considering their big addition on the blueline in Dobson, a healthy Kaiden Guhle, a full season of Alex Carrier, and a more defensively oriented Lane Hutson, the Canadiens have one of the most promising defensive corps in the league, something that seemed so out of the picture just 12 months ago.
They also entered last season without Laine for 30 games, no Demidov, a slow Slafkovsky, and an unestablished bottom-six that found players jumping in and out of the lineup.
A lot must go right in an extremely stacked division, but the idea, and potential, is there for Montreal to have a very successful season coming up.