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The Montreal Canadiens have reached the stage of their rebuild where smart drafting, trades and free agent signings have their top prospects challenging to steal lineup spots from some veteran players.

Former Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin started what he called a Reset back in 2018. He traded some veterans, accumulated draft picks and began moving the organization in a different direction. It was never supposed to be a full rebuild like the one the Canadiens eventually undertook, but that Reset, combined with a Stanley Cup run in 2021 resulting in key injuries to Carey Price, Shea Weber, Paul Byron and others, created the setting of a perfect storm that ultimately helped set the table for the current team.

Bergevin’s tenure produced players such as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kaiden Guhle, Oliver Kapanen, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj and Jakub Dobeš, while also providing assets that later helped the organization acquire other pieces. When Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes took over, however, they had a much larger job in mind. They sold Geoff Molson on a full rebuild, invested heavily in the draft and, perhaps more importantly, in player development. Finishing low enough in the standings to draft early certainly helped, but drafting players is only half the battle. You still have to develop them.

That development is now creating a rather pleasant problem for the Canadiens. Players who were once considered long-term projects are beginning to knock loudly on the NHL door, while some players already inside the house are discovering that the door swings both ways. Ask Brendan Gallagher. Montreal’s 2026 training camp opened with 57 players, including 43 under NHL contracts, and with only a handful of preseason games available, there is not much time for anyone to make a case.

Montreal Canadiens Prospects Making a push

David Reinbacher and Florian Xhekaj have understandably received much of the attention, and both have given management plenty to think about. Reinbacher looks stronger, his skating appears more fluid and his decision-making with the puck continues to mature. He was paired with Lane Hutson during camp, and with Kaiden Guhle expected to miss the beginning of the season following offseason surgery, Reinbacher has a legitimate opportunity to force his way onto the opening-night roster.

The bigger question comes after that. If Reinbacher earns a spot and plays well, somebody else has to come out. That could put Jayden Struble or Arber Xhekaj in an uncomfortable position. Neither player suddenly becomes a bad NHL defenceman because a younger player has passed him on the depth chart. That is simply how hockey works. The ladder does not care how long you have been standing on it.

Up front, Florian Xhekaj and Owen Beck are making their own arguments. Beck has already appeared in 28 NHL games and produced 33 points in 58 AHL games last season, while Xhekaj scored 17 goals and accumulated 182 penalty minutes in 64 games with Laval. Those are not numbers that guarantee an NHL job, but their play during training camp show that they are good enough to be on the current roster.

And this is where things become particularly interesting for Kirby Dach and Zachary Bolduc. Both have NHL experience and both have reasons to be given every opportunity to establish themselves. But opportunity is not the same thing as entitlement. If younger players are consistently outplaying veterans in camp, eventually management has to stop looking at what a player was supposed to become and start looking at what he is actually showing.

For Bolduc, the concern is not a lack of effort. Dach, meanwhile, needs to show more urgency. He has the size, skill and pedigree, but hockey has never been particularly impressed by résumés. At some point, potential becomes an overdue bill.

The same situation exists in goal. Jacob Fowler has reached the point where the argument is no longer simply that he is a promising prospect. He looks ready to challenge for NHL duty. Samuel Montembeault has shown signs of life, while Jakub Dobeš has earned the starter role, making the crease another position where the best lineup may not necessarily be the one with the most familiar names.

Fowler would be best-served playing 35 NHL games, practicing every day against NHL players and experiencing the league first-hand again instead of spending another season playing 50 games in the AHL simply because he is waivers exempt. Sometimes the best way to learn how deep the water means diving into the deep end.

And this is only the beginning. Adam Engström, Luke Mittelstadt and Tyler Thorpe are showing that they are not particularly interested in waiting patiently forever, while further down the pipeline there are players such as Michael Hage, Alexander Zharovsky, Bogdan Konyushkov and Bryce Pickford, amongst others, who will eventually arrive with the same attitude.

That should make Canadiens fans smile, but it should also make Kent Hughes very busy, working the phones with more urgency.

The rebuild was about accumulating young talent. The next stage is about making room for the talent that has earned its opportunity. Hughes has spent much of the summer looking for ways to improve the roster, and now he may have another reason to make some calls.

Because when young players start pushing veterans for jobs, that is not a problem with the rebuild. It is one of the clearest signs that the rebuild is over.

Now comes the part where you have to win.

This article first appeared on The Sick Podcast and was syndicated with permission.

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