3 Canadiens Keys to a Successful 2026-27 Season

If you’re the Montreal Canadiens, there are certain things you can’t count on happening in 2026-27 that undeniably contributed to their successful 106-point season and eventual third-round finish. Things like, Lane Hutson tying another of Larry Robinson’s records, or Cole Caufield scoring 50 goals again, when he was shooting a near-unheard-of 19.8%.

Even the newly acquired Chris Kreider will be in tough to so much as reach 50 points like he just did with the Anaheim Ducks. At Age 35 and having understandably shown signs of decline, the Canadiens’ (relatively) major offseason acquisition is far from a shoo-in to stay in the top six the length of the season. All that having been said, the Canadiens are still in a great position to compete for an Atlantic Division title this season, which is what a successful 2026-27 looks like in theory, because a lot can still realistically go right.

For example, Hutson doesn’t need to break any more of Robinson’s records. If he keeps putting up points at his current pace, and, after two straight seasons of this he should be able to, he’ll still inevitably contribute to this team taking its next steps into contention. Similar for Caufield, who has effectively improved his point production each season, he will inevitably still put up points, while other emerging stars like Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov can pick up the goal-scoring slack. Finally, whatever Kreider contributes is technically gravy, seeing as he wasn’t even on the team last season.

And that’s just for starters. Even so, there are certain factors that could get in the way of the Canadiens running roughshod over the Atlantic, arguably the toughest division in the NHL. Here is how they mitigate those, through these three keys to a successful 2026-27 season:

3. Stay Healthy

On the equivalent list heading into 2025-26, staying as healthy as possible took the No. 1 spot. And, whereas at the start of the rebuild, the Canadiens literally set records for man-games lost, they were more of a middle-of-the-pack team with a 14th-ranked 256 (per NHLInjuryViz). Now that they are significantly deeper, injuries aren’t as much of a concern.

While the largely unused Patrik Laine accounted for a large chunk, injuries to Alex Newhook, Kaiden Guhle and Kirby Dach contributed to that total. That’s somewhat encouraging, in that it’s clear the Canadiens could theoretically enjoy more luck still on the injury front (although, with Guhle out to start the season, don’t count your chickens quite yet). Nevertheless, it’s good to know they are working with a margin of error of some kind.

2. Balance Playing Time Between Dobes and Fowler

Something the Canadiens at least have more control over, is how they play their goalies. However, it’s not exactly an area in which they’ve excelled in the recent past, choosing to go with a three-goalie rotation at times, while generally giving last year’s starter, Sam Montembeault, too much leeway, when he was mired in a horrible, let’s say, slump, going 10-8-4 last season with a 3.43 goals-against average and .872 save percentage (SV%).

As a result of his struggles, the Canadiens ultimately went with rookie Jakub Dobes and fellow-rookie Jacob Fowler as his backup in the postseason. The gamble paid off, although it’s hard to classify it as such, seeing as the Habs didn’t have much choice. Dobes went 10-4 down the stretch, with a .924 SV%. Based on that performance and how he fared in the playoffs, Dobes is a safe bet to for all intents and purposes become the starter.