The Montreal Canadiens are considered to have one of the brightest futures in the NHL because of the way they have been able to build through the draft but then lock these players up long-term at the right moment.
According to one ranking, though, they don't have just one of the best young cores but have the best. Recently, Sonny Sachdeva at Sportsnet put together his list of Top 5 under-25 cores in the NHL.
The Montreal Canadiens would come in at number one followed by the San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators, and Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canadiens' core includes Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, along with goalies Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler. What is important to note about this group is that all the skaters are under contract through 2031.
The Canadiens bright future goes beyond this group listed in these rankings
What is remarkable when thinking about the Montreal Canadiens is that their future includes more than the players listed in these rankings. They have other players who are 25 years or younger, not mentioned, like Jayden Struble, Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, and Zack Bolduc, who have played key roles at times last season.
The Canadiens have players who just miss the cutoff, which includes Nick Suzuki and Noah Dobson, both of whom are 26 years old and seemingly just hitting the prime of their careers. They also have a deep prospect pool that includes forwards Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky, along with defensemen David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom.
It would have been great to see general manager Kent Hughes make a big splash already this offseason to build off the momentum of last season. However, when looking at this group of players and where they are in their careers, the Canadiens are just hitting their championship window and could get better with the natural development of this young group of players.
There certainly will be opportunities to add to it and help their case, but this team has the luxury of being a little patient with the roster they have.
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