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Will the Habs finish ahead of the Leafs? | Pronman, Fox and the Hutson brothers
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Will the Habs finish ahead of the Leafs? | Pronman, Fox and the Hutson brothers

Originally posted on Dose.ca  |  Last updated Sep 6, 2025 10:07 AM ET

Things have been hopping in Toronto in recent months. The same could be said for Montreal.

But we all agree that things haven’t stirred in the same way, and that the way things have moved in Montreal is unquestionably more positive.

And it may not be over yet!

Kent Hughes still has the resources to complete a transaction that will make the Habs an even more superior team in October or later this fall.

Let’s compare the two realities and the possible additions for these two great rivals.

A more defensive and truculent Leafs…Despite Auston Matthews being hampered by injury for most of the season – I know, I had him in my pool! – the Leafs had a superb campaign last year.

But no club suffered a greater loss than Mitch Marner.

[content-ads]It’s nothing against Nicolas Roy, one of the NHL’s good bottom-six players, or Easton Cowan, a legitimate forward prospect, or the possible resurrection of Matias Maccelli in Ontario, but the departure of Toronto’s little wizard completely changes the Leafs’ offense.

The ” Core Four ” is no more, and the “window of opportunity” officially begins to close in the Queen City. The defence, despite the fine addition of Brandon Carlo, and the attack are slowly but surely aging, the succession is slim and Matthews has only three years left on his contract..

In short, maybe the Leafs, who will rely more on defense and proverbial truculence, will still be ahead of the Habs next spring, but maybe not..

And let’s just say that, unlike Montreal, nobody sees them as favourites to win the Cup in 2029-2030 or before..

[content-ads]An exciting Habs with the wind in their sailsWe’ve been talking and analyzing the additions of Dobson and Bolduc all summer.

Nothing but positives! The Habs have added two players to their core without sacrificing anything they absolutely wanted in return.

There was also (much) less talk about the departures of effective veterans Dvorak and Armia, and the sacrifice of Heineman.

But let’s not forget other “additions” that could compensate for these losses and make a positive difference over an entire season… including two recent top 5 draft picks!

A first season for DemidovFor one, Demidov will be playing his first full season and, following in Hutson’s footsteps, is the clear favorite to win the Calder .

We’re not saying that Demidov will necessarily be a “star” or “superstar” player in his first season, as was the case with Hutson, but he might not be too far off those statuses. He will certainly be an impact player, superior to the average NHL player. A 20-goal, 40-assist season seems quite realistic, and perhaps a little conservative in his case..

[content-ads]He who should be the fourth most-used forward, will steal “offensive” minutes from players like Dach and Newhook. At least one of these two will have no choice but to play on the third line and/or lose powerplay minutes.

That said, it wouldn’t be at all awkward to bet on players like Dach and Newhook on a third line. In the end, it would compare rather well with the Dvoraks and Armias of this world in those chairs…

But more importantly, the additions of Demidov and Bolduc alone should generate around 45 goals. That’s some 20 more goals than the Armia-Dvorak duo. Provided they don’t account for too many goals against, there’s a huge net gain opportunity here.

Given that the other forwards are having seasons pretty much living up to expectations, the arrival of the Bolduc-Demidov duo should be enough for the Habs to present one of the NHL’s 10-12 best offenses, a first since the 2014-2015 season, during the “great Pacioretty years”…

[content-ads]Roy is in great shape…Speaking of “additions”, here’s one we shouldn’t bury too quickly. In very, very good shape, if Joshua Roy performs well at camp and is asked to play a role similar to Joel Armia’s on the third or fourth line, would we really be surprised if he had a 30-point season?

Roy remains a talented player with an above-average sense of anticipation. With a better focus on his career, more speed and explosion, watch out…

With the departures of Dvorak, Armia and Heineman, he could even eventually become a solution on the power play. We’ll see…

[content-ads]The “other” top 5 pick…Last but not least, David Reinbacher is an addition that is still uncertain as of today, but one that is by no means negligible. When he is ready, he will radically change the face of the defensive brigade.

When the Austrian, selected 5th overall in 2023, settles in Montreal for good, whether this fall or winter, the Habs will be even more clearly in the top third of the league’s best defensive brigades. It will have achieved the “Holy Grail” at the blue line by being able to dress not only three left-handers and three right-handers, but also by presenting a perfect balance between “offensive” and “defensive” backs.

So, not only will the team have replaced the loss of a washed-up Savard with a star defenseman in Dobson, it will eventually be able to replace a “decent” back like Struble with an impact defenseman with a superior hockey IQ in Reinbacher.

It’s only a matter of time… and a 100%-recovered knee!

In short, given a relatively healthy club, with its anticipated gains in offense and defense, I fully share Mathias Brunet ‘s opinion and find it hard to see how the Habs could field a worse lineup in 2025-2026.

Few teams will add two top-5 picks to their roster this year…[content-ads]Pronman, Fox and the Hutson brothers

Lane Hutson’s historic season and Calder Trophy didn’t change a thing. By dropping him from 39th in February to 34th this week, Corey Pronman is still placing a pocketful of “dubious” players ahead of him in his famous U23 rankings.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that doesn’t mean all opinions are equal. But that doesn’t mean that all opinions are equal. They must take into account the obvious and the facts, and respect a certain logic.

That’s the basics. It’s what we teach at school.

[content-ads]In a pinch, why shouldn’t the Habs’ #48 be in Pronman’s top 10?

Even if I don’t agree, it’s defensible. Maybe with difficulty for certain choices, but it can be defended.

Excluded from his top 15?

Yep.

Would you really take Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley, Wyatt Johnston, Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson over Hutson?

Not for me, but let’s just say that the question may arise for some of them..

[content-ads]But the fact that, from positions 16 to 33, Porter Martone, Mason McTavish, Matty Beniers, Will Smith, Berkley Catton, Caleb Desnoyers, Artyom Levshunov, Kent Johnson, James Hagens, Shane Wright, Anton Frondell, Owen Power, William Eklund, Jake O’Brien, Zayne Parekh, Carter Yakemchuk, Beckett Sennecke and Anton Silayev are all placed ahead of Lane Hutson defies belief!

And comparing Lane Hutson to Adam Fox to defend his choice doesn’t help Pronman’s cause!

The Rangers superstar would already be a highly respectable, enviable, even unhoped-for comparable for many individuals ahead of Hutson on his list.

So, to begin with, his logic doesn’t hold water.

The Blue Shirts’ fullback has already won the Norris (2020-2021) and has just put together five stellar seasons of 70 (prorated over 82 games), 74, 72, 73 and 61 points, while combining a positive differential of +90 during that period!

Differential is obviously a limited statistic, but even in last year’s crooked Manhattan club, he found a way to finish the campaign at +9, tied for second on his team!

And beyond the differential he has this even more telling statistic about the quality of Fox’s play and impact at 5-on-5…

[content-ads]But the worst thing (for Pronman) is that Hutson could become better than Fox!

Anyway, at 20-21 in his first year in the NHL, he had 24 more points than Fox at 21-22.

Not 3, 4 more points, no, 24!

At least Pronman seems to have learned a bit from Lane’s brother Cole, whom he moved up from 95th to 43rdon his most recent U23list… For my money, Cole may be just a tick below Zeev Buium, whom Pronman now ranks 5th.

In fact, to be more accurate, Pronman is just staying in the same family pattern, since before ranking Lane in his U23 top 40 in February, he still had him at… 87th last September!

Quite comical!

This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.

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