The Carabins stole the show in 2026 among Montreal sports teams

Marc-Olivier Cook
The Carabins stole the show in 2026 among Montreal sports teams
Credit: Screenshot / X

Still, 2025 was an interesting year for Montreal teams other than the Canadiens.

Especially in football.

The Alouettes and Carabins had big seasons, but CF Montreal didn't: let's take a closer look at what caught the eye of each of these clubs in the past year.

CF Montreal (6-10-18)

CF Montreal's season can be summed up in just a few words: it was a disaster.

The team's start to the season was catastrophic. Laurent Courtois was fired a few games into the season, and nothing seemed to work on the pitch either.

The result?

All hell broke loose, players were sold… and the club decided to take a new direction by putting its faith in Marco Donadel. But the results weren't great either.

The good news is that CF Montreal has found a way to finish the season with just one defeat in their last three games. But it's the way the club has behaved on the pitch that gives the most encouraging signs for next season.

There will be changes to the squad: young players are expected to take up the torch, and CF Montreal will have a vacancy for a designated player with the departure of Matias Coccaro.

It remains to be seen, now, whether this can help the team find its way back to success in 2026…

Montreal Carabins (8-2-0)

The Montreal Carabins have a recipe for success.

This is often the case, but the Montreal team was one of the best in the country. The Carabins lost only two games in 2025 (to the Rouge et Or and McGill) and were dominant all season with the emergence of Pepe Gonzalez at quarterback.

The Carabins were so good that they won the Dunsmore Cup (against the Rouge et Or)… and went on to win the Uteck Cup and the Vanier Cup.

It was the third time in their history that the Carabins had won the Vanier Cup. It's got to be done! And the boys have every right to be proud of what they were able to accomplish:

So you can understand that, in general, this really is a dream season for the Carabins.

And the club is likely to be really good again in 2026, because the program is one of the best in the country. We're able to recruit well at the Carabins and that changes the game in the end.

Pepe Gonzalez is likely to be even better in 2026. And that alone can scare a lot of teams…

Montreal Alouettes (10-8-0)

It's been an up-and-down season for the Sparrows.

The club started the season with three wins, and at one point we even wondered: do the Alouettes have what it takes to have a truly dominant season?

Jason Maas' men did well in general throughout the season, and were able to clinch their playoff berth after finishing second in the Eastern Conference.

And in the playoffs, the club went all the way… but wasn't able to finish the job. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were simply too strong, and the Alouettes lost the Grey Cup 25-17.

The narrative of the season is that the team was unable to be successful without Davis Alexander (who missed a good part of the season) and that he wasn't 100% in the final.

And… despite all this, the team came within a whisker of a second championship in three years.

The big question for the first few weeks of 2026: will Marc-Antoine Dequoy be back?

To be continued…

Montreal's LPHF Victory (19-8-3)

I'd like to end this article with a word about the Montreal Victory, in its second season in the FHL.

It went (really) well, by the way: Marie-Philip Poulin and his gang finished the campaign in first place in the league's overall standings, with a total of 53 points.

The standings looked like this:

  1. Montreal win (53 points)
  2. Toronto Sceptres (48 points)
  3. Ottawa Charge (44 points)
  4. Minnesota Frost (44 points)
  5. Boston Fleet (33 points)
  6. New York Sirens (37 points)

And… not too surprisingly, Marie-Philip Poulin had another big season. The Québécois athlete finished the campaign as the fourth-best scorer in the LPHF, with 26 points—including 19 goals—in 30 games.

But… the problem is this: Victoire was once again eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, this time by Ottawa. Maybe things will be different in 2026, if the stars align… because it would be nice to see this club win the LPHF championship!


Overtime

The Alouettes and Carabins may still be good enough for 2025. La Victoire too.

But… that might not be the case for Montreal CF with all that's happened and with the team rebuilding. That's okay too: it can take time to get back to winning ways.

Talk to the Montreal Canadiens, who seem to be on the verge of turning the corner on their rebuild!

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