The Canadiens’ 2025 season in 12 highlights

Félix Forget
The Canadiens’ 2025 season in 12 highlights
Credit: Getty Images

With only a few days to go until the end of 2025, it's worth taking the time to reflect on what's happened over the past 12 months.

For the Canadiens, 2025 has been an eventful year. There were some big moments, both on and off the ice.

Here, then, is the Canadiens' Year 2025 in 12 key moments, listed in chronological order:

1. Nick Suzuki's meeting with Kent Hughes about the trade deadline

At the dawn of last spring's trade deadline, the Habs were not inspiring confidence on the ice. The losses were piling up… and once again, the club was expected to sell.

But Nick Suzuki wasn't having any of it. During the 4 Nations Confrontation, he went to Kent Hughes to tell him not to dismantle his group, to which the GM replied to give him a reason not to by going out and winning games.

And that's exactly what happened: Suzuki and the Habs went on a winning streak after returning from the 4 Nations, with the result that Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, and David Savard finished the year in Montreal. Evans even signed a contract extension (four years, $2.85 million a year) in town, by the way.

2. Nick Suzuki's one-point-per-game season

Speaking of Suzuki, he really reached another level last season. The captain racked up points at an impressive rate… to the point where he was on track to become the first since Alex Kovalev to collect 82 points in a single season with the Habs.

And in the end, Suzuki did just that: he scored his 82nd point of the season on April 5, giving him one point per game.

He ended the campaign with 89 points, including 30 goals.

3. Ivan Demidov's arrival in town

This is probably the biggest moment of the year… because it was absolutely unexpected.

Ivan Demidov, whom the Habs drafted 5th overall in 2024, had been the club's best prospect for a long, long time. That said, his contract in Russia meant he couldn't make the jump to America until June.

However, to everyone's surprise, Demidov was released from his contract at the beginning of April, allowing him to join the Habs to finish the season. And let's just say, it didn't take him long to make an impression, hehe.

4. Qualifying for the playoffs

Despite a terrible start to the season, the Habs had an incredible second half of the campaign that kept them #InTheMix until the end of the season. And in the end, the club found itself playing its 82nd game with a very simple stakes: with a win, it would qualify for the playoffs.

And against the Hurricanes, who didn't play many of their regulars, the Habs were able to prevail, clinching their playoff berth.

For a young club barely out of the rebuilding phase, this experience was crucial.

5. Game #3 of the series against the Capitals

Game #3 of the series between the Habs and Capitals was rock ‘n' roll to the max. Trailing 0-2 in the series, the Habs wanted to take advantage of their fans' support to get back into the series… but it ended up being a pretty spectacular game instead.

Both starting goalies, Samuel Montembeault and Logan Thompson, were injured (giving birth to the Patrick Chèvrefils phenomenon)… but above all, we remember the duel between Josh Anderson and Tom Wilson on the Capitals bench.

The Habs won that game… but it was their only playoff victory: they were eliminated by the Capitals in five games.

6. The Calder for Lane Hutson

Lane Hutson, in his first year in the NHL, was sensational. The defenseman collected 66 points in 82 games, making him a logical candidate for the Calder Trophy.

And despite fine seasons from Macklin Celebrini, Dustin Wolf, and Matvei Michkov, it was Hutson who came out on top.

And he did so by a landslide.

7. The Noah Dobson transaction

At the last draft, the Canadiens had two first-round picks, 16th and 17th. Except, in the end, they didn't make a single first-round selection.

The reason? The club combined these two picks with Emil Heineman to acquire Noah Dobson, on an eight-year, $9.5 million-a-year contract.

It's Kent Hughes' biggest deal to date… and it's not particularly tight.

8. The acquisition of Zachary Bolduc

After the Dobson deal on draft night, the Habs were quiet on the free-agent market on July 1. But that didn't stop them from being active that day.

Even before the market opened, the club completed a transaction, acquiring Zachary Bolduc in return for Logan Mailloux.

The Canadiens dipped into their depth at the blue line to pick up some offensive punch, and above all, a classic “little guy from back home.”

9. Lane Hutson's eight-year contract

Throughout the summer, Lane Hutson's contract situation was the talk of the town. The defenseman was eligible to sign a contract extension effective July 1, but it dragged on a bit, which didn't sit well with the defenseman.

And after three games where he seemed distracted on the ice, Hutson decided to settle the matter: he signed a new eight-year contract at $8.85 million a year (starting next season), 24 hours before the Habs' home opener.

Unsurprisingly, he received a rousing ovation the next day.

10. Management contract extensions

The 2025-26 season was, in effect, the last year of Kent Hughes' and Jeff Gorton's contracts. And given that they've been doing a good job since their arrival (and that it's rare to see a manager enter the last year of his contract without a new pact in his pocket), we expected this matter to be settled before the start of the season.

It was finally settled a few days into the campaign (and announced the day after Hutson's contract was announced): both executives signed new long-term agreements with the Habs.

The message was clear: they're here to stay.

11. Mike Matheson's contract extension

Mike Matheson has been a pillar of the Montreal blue line for several years now. The Québécois, acquired in exchange for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling, plays big minutes and never complains about his role.

Yet, a few months away from full autonomy and with the big contracts of Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson, we wondered if his future lay in Montreal. As it turns out, he's in town to stay.

At $6 million a year, that's a very reasonable salary for such an important guy… even if the term (five years) is a bit long. That said, it does reinforce one thing: the future of Montreal's defensive brigade lies with Hutson, Dobson, Matheson, and Guhle. It remains to be seen whether David Reinbacher will also become a mainstay in a few years' time.

12. The Phillip Danault transaction

Over the past few weeks, Phillip Danault's name has been at the heart of NHL rumors. We sensed that the Québécois needed a change of scenery, and we knew that the Habs were interested.

Finally, on the evening of December 19, just over an hour before a Bettman Circuit transaction freeze, it all came together: Danault returned to Montreal in exchange for a second-round pick.

The Habs were looking for help at center, and they got a guy who will at least help defensively.


Extension

In addition to these 12 moments, Alexander Zharovsky's selection in the last draft should also be highlighted as a highlight. The kid is doing very well in the KHL this season and seems to be on his way to becoming a very interesting prospect for a player selected in the second round.

And if we look back to very recent times, Jacob Fowler's recall is another moment that got people talking. In his case, it may well only be temporary… but he's still the club's best prospect in net: it was quite something to see him on the show just a few months after he turned pro.

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