3 Questions Canadiens Face Heading into 2026 Training Camp – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens training camp opens next week, as fans inch closer to what is looking like a memorable 2026-27 season. In that time, as the roster takes shape, the Habs will indirectly answer a few questions on the minds of fans, with the decisions they make.

Here are the top three:

3. Where Will Slafkovsky Play?

Logically, Juraj Slafkovsky will end up on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, which is where he ended up in the playoffs and has played for the vast majority of the last few seasons. This is really only a question, because he found success playing with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov on the second line for a big chunk of the season.

Breaking it down, Slafkovsky had scored six goals and three assists in his first 18 games before he got moved to the second line, to effectively coincide with an injury to Alex Newhook. Over the next 42 games, before returning to the top line, Slafkovsky scored 15 goals and 38 points, effectively at a point-per-game pace.

At face value, seeing as Slafkovsky finished with an impressive 30 goals and 73 points, he produced at a higher clip playing on the second line, where he scored most of his points. That makes for a good case for him to return there for 2026-27. However, even though “only” 35 of his points came playing with Suzuki and Caufield (40 games), the Canadiens have to look at his season in three parts: his time on Line 2, before the move and then after.

Remember, he scored just nine points in 18 games to start the season. That means, in the final 22 games of the season, upon having returned to the top line, he scored 26 (nine goals). Separate breakdowns of the seasons of Suzuki and Caufield reveal they too benefitted from playing with Slafkovsky over the final quarter.

Granted, with exception to Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Slafkovsky’s scoring seemed to dry up in the postseason (alongside that of Caufield and to a lesser extent Suzuki). However, until it becomes clear their respective scoring slumps carry over into this coming regular season where checking won’t be nearly as tight, it’s worth it to go back to the well, especially seeing as Newhook enjoyed great success playing with Demidov when healthy, himself. After scoring seven goals through two rounds, including the series winner in each case, Newhook deserves another shot in what would otherwise be Slafkovsky’s spot.

2. Does Kent Hughes Make a Trade?

The projected third member of that second line, Kapanen, has obviously faced some criticism after his production dropped off to end the season and into the playoffs, during which he was a regular healthy scratch. Overall his season was still a rousing success, as he scored a near-rookie-class-leading 22 goals (37 points).

It’s nevertheless natural to question how much of that was Kapanen (and how much was Demidov and Slafkovsky) and whether he’s the best choice to pivot that second line.

I’d be worried if the model said Kapanen was driving his line… He’s playing his role well enough right now, finishing and filling in blanks. His results away from Demidov are catastrophic, and I don’t know that his 22.5% sh % with Demidov is refelctive of his true talent. https://t.co/eYdysLWZX6 pic.twitter.com/0BIaEAKOqA

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 15, 2026

As things stand now, with the pieces general manager Kent Hughes has with which to work, Kapanen probably is. After all, he did still score 22 goals playing on that line, with is nothing at which to scoff, especially for a rookie. However, with rumours last season tying the Canadiens to Robert Thomas of the St. Louis Blues (among other alternative options at centre), you can’t help but wonder if the Habs would prefer to acquire someone who’s more established and proven capable of driving possession on his own to play with Demidov.

With the emergence of goalie Jakub Dobes and the acquisition last offseason of right-handed defenseman Noah Dobson, that second-line spot down the middle, in which the Canadiens ended up playing fourth-liner Jake Evans in the playoffs, is their biggest hole. If Hughes were to make a trade, it would logically be to fill it.

The question is, how patient is he? With increased pressure to go far this coming season, Hughes could probably be persuaded to pull the trigger early, especially since the Habs fell just a few points shy of winning the Atlantic Division last season. Their ultimately inferior seeding forced them to face the Lightning in Round 1 and the division-champion Buffalo Sabres in Round 2, each series going the full seven games, which undeniably softened them up for the eventual-Stanley Cup-champion Carolina Hurricanes in Round 3.

1. Which Rookies Make the Cut?

It probably wouldn’t even be a question, if Michael Hage, the presumptive candidate to eventually fill the role of second-line centre once he turns pro, had signed on at the end of last season. That would have given the Canadiens a potential Calder Memorial Trophy candidate for the third straight season, after Lane Hutson won in 2025 and Demidov fell just short last season. You’d think, based on Hage’s ceiling, the Habs would have been prepared to run with him in that spot, whereas Kapanen seems better-suited to play in the bottom six. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, as Hage obviously returned to university for another season.

The flip side is that could open up a spot for a rookie like Florian Xhekaj or Owen Beck up front, with just 12 seemingly spoken for (including that of Zachary Bolduc, who remains an unsigned restricted free agent). Similarly, the Canadiens have yet to sign Arber Xhekaj on defense, which calls into question how many blueliners they’ll go with out of training camp.

It could realistically be as many as eight. Xhekaj will conceivably join Hutson, Dobson, Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, Kaiden Guhle and Jayden Struble. The final spot should come down to rookies David Reinbacher, who reportedly has the inside track, after having been selected fifth overall in 2023, and Adam Engstrom.

If the Canadiens do go with eight defensemen (and 13 forwards), that would force them to go with two goalies, as opposed to a three-goalie rotation, which has been envisioned in some circles, despite it not having worked well at last season. Seeing as the Habs ultimately went with Dobes and rookie Jacob Fowler, who remains eligible for the Calder, as their tandem in the playoffs, that should translate into Sam Montembeault being the odd man out.

However, nothing is for certain, especially seeing as Fowler remains exempt from waivers and would be the easiest to send down to the American Hockey League. Barring a horrible training camp on his part though, it’s hard to see the team going that way. Hard to envision, but not impossible, resulting in another layer of intrigue surrounding the team heading into training camp.