Hockey

The Canadiens are no longer a small team, and the proof is in the pudding
Maxime Truman
The Canadiens are no longer a small team, and the proof is in the pudding
Credit: YouTube/capture d'écran

It's October 2. The CH's regular season opens in six days' time, and we're waiting for the final cuts, hoping that everyone will be healthy enough to start the regular season on the right foot from Day 1. For many years, the Habs have had the cursed flaw of being a small team, of having too many small players in their line-up… Except that, looking at what the Habs line-up is likely to look like on October 8 in Toronto, we have to admit that no, the Canadiens are no longer a small team. Anyone who watched the Capitals vs. Canadiens series last spring knows how important it is in the playoffs not to be too small. On the blue line, the picture is clear. If everyone is healthy, we already know the identity of the seven defensemen who will start the season with the big club: Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Alexandre Carrier, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble.

Up front, we're likely to count on these 14 forwards: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Zachary Bolduc, Alex Newhook, Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Oliver Kapanen, Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher, Samuel Blais and Joe Veleno. Unless Blais, Kapanen or Veleno are sent to Laval before the first game of the season…In net, it'll be Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes. Based on the heights and weights provided by the Canadiens after their medical examinations in September 2025, we've got this picture..Defensive
6'4 / 200 lbs 5'9 / 162 lbs 6'2 / 194 lbs 6'3 / 202 lbs 5'11 / 183 lbs 6'4 / 240 lbs 6'0 / 207 lbs

Forward
5'11 / 207 pounds 5'8 / 175 pounds 6'3 / 225 pounds 6'1 / 188 pounds 6'0 / 187 pounds 5'10 / 200 pounds 6'4 / 208 pounds 6'4 / 221 pounds 6'2 / 192 pounds 6'3 / 226 pounds 6'0 / 190 pounds 5'9 / 185 pounds 6'2 / 206 pounds 6'1 / 201 poundsGoaltenders6'3 / 218 pounds 6'4 / 215 poundsOf course, not everything is perfect. The Panthers won the Stanley Cup without any defensemen under six feet tall, and no defenseman that tall was drafted last June. Except that the Canadiens have Lane Hutson – no longer listed at 5'10, but rather at 5'9, by the way – and Alexandre Carrier… Offensively, yes, Cole Caufield and Brendan Gallagher are small, but one scores goals by the ton and the other sets an example by working like a dog night after night.

Except that, in general, it's clear that the Canadiens are no longer one of the NHL's smallest teams, and

Do they have enough grit and toughness to go a long way this spring? Maybe not yet, but it's coming. The recent game against the Senators shows that the group has learned since the Kassian / Montembeault / Petry episode. Jeff Gorton failed to win a Stanley Cup in New York because he underestimated the toughness aspect of the game… But he and Kent Hughes seem to be more aware of it now that they're in Montreal. No fewer than 12 guys 6'2 or taller are likely to start the season with the big club this year.As I said last week: the Canadiens are now better equipped than the Panthers to win Stanley Cups in the medium/long term because of the age of their best players (and their bank of prospects). In short, the future is bright in Montreal. Let's hope some gray clouds don't cast a shadow over all this optimism that's gripped the fans.

'Overtime'

– Attention all interested parties,

– Indeed.

– A new contributor to Tony Marinaro's French-language show.

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