Montreal Canadiens Cole Caufield celebrates with his teammates (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)

Montreal Canadiens Announce 2025-26 Opening Night Roster

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Spencer Lazary | Last updated Oct 8, 2025 8:57 AM ET

The Montreal Canadiens’ 2025-26 opening night roster is officially set. Yesterday, the organization announced the 23 players they’ll start the season with.

After a few offseason moves, including the addition of defenseman Noah Dobson, the Canadiens are entering this year with bigger expectations. They’re not just hoping to make the playoffs—they want to go on a run. Both the coaching staff and management believe this group can help them get there.

Canadiens 2025-26 Opening Night Roster

Forwards (13): Josh Anderson, Zachary Bolduc, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Ivan Demidov, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovský, Nick Suzuki, Joe Veleno

Defensemen (7): Alexandre Carrier, Noah Dobson, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj

Goaltenders (2): Jakub Dobeš, Samuel Montembeault

Injured and/or Non-Roster: Gannon Laroque, David Reinbacher, William Trudeau

Montreal finalized this roster ahead of their opener against their long-time rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. They’ll enter Game 1 with $5.5 million in cap space, giving them some flexibility to make additions later in the season.

A few notable moves were made before the final roster was set. Fan favourite Florian Xhekaj was assigned to the American Hockey League (AHL) after an impressive preseason where he went toe-to-toe with Nic Deslauriers of the Philadelphia Flyers. Another surprising move involved goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, who signed a $1.1 million deal in the summer but will begin the year in the AHL.

The Canadiens have plenty of high-end prospects who are close to breaking through, and they’ll get their chance soon enough. For now, those players will look to make an impact in the AHL while the NHL squad focuses on earning a playoff spot.

It all gets underway tomorrow night against the Maple Leafs at 7:00 p.m. EST.