Canadiens: Which Veterans Are In Montreal For The Long Haul?

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The Montreal Canadiens rebuild has progressed to the next stage. Many young players and prospects have been identified as foundational pieces. They have been at the bottom of the standings for two years now and have added some exciting young players to the organization.

Their 23 and under club has potential franchise cornerstones in Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle and David Reinbacher. The team also boasts exciting secondary pieces with high upside like Alex Newhook, Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux and loads of depth options behind them.

The future appears to be bright and the hope is that a Stanley Cup contending team is not far off in the future. However, it should be kept in mind that no team has ever won a championship with young players alone. The average age and experience level of players on Stanley Cup winners from the past 20 years is 27.4 years old and 5.5 years of NHL experience.

That means you need some graybeards to bring up that mean. For every young star like Brayden Point or Nathan MacKinnon or a Cup winning squad, there is also an experienced, veteran voice in the room like Patrick Maroon or Erik Johnson who bring a lot more value to a team that just what is done on the ice.

While you can always add more experienced players down the road, there are several under contract with the Canadiens right now. As they become unrestricted free agents over the coming seasons and the Canadiens enter their competitive window, will any of them be part of the team’s long term future? Which veteran players should the Habs be looking to deal as soon as possible and which one’s are ideal leaders to keep around for a little while longer?

Apr 4, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports /

Long Term Plan

Here’s who is coming off the books in the next four seasons:

2024: Mike Hoffman, Rem Pitlick, Chris Wideman, Sam Montembeault, Sean Monahan

2025: Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Jake Evans, Michael Pezzetta, Jonathan Kovacevic, David Savard, Jake Allen

2026: Mike Matheson

2027: Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher

Let’s go in reverse order. Truth is, I think if there were a taker for Gallagher he would have been dealt already but if he does end up finishing the contract how great would it be for the team to be trying to win it for him. The guy has been there for all the highs and lows. I mean can you think of anything more awesome than Suzuki turning around and handing the cup to Gally? Goosebumps. That said I don’t think he makes it to the end of his deal, the man is broken down and seems destined for LTIR.

Personally, I think Matheson and Anderson will both finish their contracts and Matheson has a shot at an extension to continue mentoring the young defencemen. Anderson could be dealt at some point but we’re still short a top 6 forward in the pipeline and until we acquire another he can fill that role. He has a power forward profile that is hard to find and I believe Kent Hughes values.

Similar to Matheson, Savard could have some value beyond his current contract as a veteran leader on the back end, especially on the right side where the Habs are still thin. But while he’s not looking to ring chase and as a local guy may be happy to stick around, he is longer in the tooth than Matheson and does not fit the Habs timeline as well so I doubt he will be extended.

The rest of the 2025 UFA lot are all goners except perhaps Pezzetta. He could earn another deal if the Habs don’t have a younger player with his combination of energy and sandpaper ready for a fourth line role at that time.

MONTREAL, CANADA – MARCH 21: Mike Matheson #8 of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Short Term Plan

That brings us to this year’s group of pending UFA’s. Hoffman, Pitlick and Wideman are not in the club’s future plans. They may not even make the team coming out of training camp. With so many forwards already under contract, it should not be a surprise to see Pitlick and Hoffman sitting in the press box or even being sent to the minors to clear up a roster spot for a younger player.

To me, Montembeault is a must sign. He is only 26 and with no obvious goaltender of the future coming, Monty is at worst a 1B and quite possibly a 1A who can work in tandem with a veteran or a youngster for the next few years and possibly beyond.

Sean Monahan is the most intriguing of them all. If he can stay healthy and produce like he did at the start of last year he can certainly be flipped at the trade deadline. But do we really need more B-level picks and prospects at this point?

I would strongly consider signing him to an extension if his health can hold up. He’s a swiss army knife who can play multiple positions up and down the lineup and his teammates love him.

The ship has been turned around and a new path has been charted but to get to the ultimate destination you can’t have all crew and no captains, you still need a few steady hands on the wheel. Let’s hope that when the time comes the Habs choose them wisely.

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