Ranking the Canadiens forwards from worst to first for the 2024-25 season

The Montreal Canadiens boast an encouraging group of forwards, and it’s something I uncovered in the top half of these rankings, or at least that will be the case if a couple of players rediscover their respective games. If they do, it’s not that the Canadiens will have one of the NHL’s better top-sixes out there, but it will be the best this organization has seen in a while. 

That said, I have concerns about their bottom-six, but if there’s one important thing to remember about these rankings, I only included players Hockey-Reference currently has projected to join the main lineup. So you won’t see anyone in the prospect pool who could rise up with a strong preseason and find a spot with the Habs big club. 

So, who aced the No. 1 spot, and who are some of the other top forwards heading into 2024-25? Let’s talk about them and what their 2024-25 season may look like. 

12 - Alex Barre-Boulet

Alex Barre-Boulet will be the odd man out among Canadiens forwards if one of the top prospects ends up making the big club out of training camp. Not that Barre-Boulet wouldn’t be part of the team, but he would instead factor in as the 13th forward who would see about 35-40 games if the Canadiens stayed healthy. 

11 - Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Rafael Harvey-Pinard will take another fourth-line role this season following a year in which he put up just 10 points and two goals in 45 games. He looked sensational when the Canadiens didn’t have the puck, with 47 blocks and 47 hits, plus an on-ice save percentage of 92.6 at even strength. 

10 - Michael Pezzetta

Michael Pezzetta has proven to be a hard-hitting lower-liner capable of playing between 51 and 63 games per year, but with the potential for more. While he’s averaged under 10 minutes per game of average total ice time, Pezzetta adds an intimidation factor that will make him a headache to play against.