After a long offseason, the Montreal Canadiens are back in action. Looking to build off a surprisingly successful 2024-25 season that saw them go 40-31-11 for 91 points and clinched their first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.
This has led many fans and experts to have very high expectations for the Canadiens. Many consider them one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference and should be a lock to return to the playoffs. However, they’ll face their first test of the season tonight as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. A team that the Canadiens will be fighting for one of the playoff spots in the East. Here are a couple of players to keep an eye on during opening night.
Alex Newhook
When the Canadiens acquired Alex Newhook from the Avalanche back in 2023, they thought they were getting a future core piece. A young forward who uses his speed to create opportunities and help set up his linemates to score. However, that has not been the case so far. In his two years with Montreal, he’s never taken the next step everyone expected him to. He’s coming off the worst performance of his career, registering 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points in 82 games. While the 15 goals tied his career high, the assists and point totals were the lowest of his career.
This feels like Newhook’s last chance to establish himself as a top-six forward. If he struggles or puts up similar numbers to last season, he’ll find himself out of the top six and potentially out of the Canadiens' plans. He is set to play alongside Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov, two players who had strong seasons overseas last year and flash potential in their brief NHL stents. It will be interesting to see if Newhook can establish himself as the leader of his line, and we should get an idea of whether he can during tonight's game.
Noah Dobson
Arguably, the biggest splash of the offseason was the Canadiens' acquisition of defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. There are few defenseman in the league with better offensive prowess than Dobson. Over his six-year NHL career, he has racked up 50 goals and 180 assists for 230 points. This should be a welcome addition to the Canadiens as their defensive core struggled to generate much offence. While it's not their primary job, you would like to see some offensive talent from their defence.
The big question for Dobson is how will he perform in his new defensive pairing. He's currently slated to play alongside Mike Matheson, another offensive-minded defenseman. Last season, Dobson spent most of his time playing with Alexander Romanov, a player who focuses more on defence and playing a strong physical game. It's unknown if Dobson can still be as effective offensively now that he's not playing alongside a sound defenseman. It's something to keep an eye on during the season opener.