Canadiens training camp preview: Pressure is on to meet high expectations

BROSSARD, Que. — With Arber Xhekaj signing at the 11th hour, the band is officially back together, ready to start training camp, seemingly prepared to cruise out of the rebuild and throttle down towards Stanley Cup contention.

Though the Montreal Canadiens may still have a few miles to cover on that journey, general manager Kent Hughes’ masterful salary cap manipulation — on display once again in inking Xhekaj for just $1.5 million before buying up four prime years of Alex Newhook’s career for just $22.2 million — has set them up to arrive in short order.

He’s got the core locked in at a bargain, and with depth overflowing up front, on the back end and in net, he’s still got some wiggle room and plenty of incentive to add.

So, buckle up, because this ride is about to get much more exciting.

Of course, there are some teams poised to throw spokes in the wheels, especially in the Atlantic Division, which will be a brutal gauntlet to run this season.

The Florida Panthers are back after a brief sabbatical from dominating the league, and they might be even better than they ever were through back-to-back championship seasons from 2023-25. The Tampa Bay Lightning have kept their contention window open while the Buffalo Sabres have cracked theirs ajar.

And the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins all have what it takes to turn this division upside down.

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Last year we all discounted the Sabres’ ability to break the NHL’s longest playoff drought and now we’re doing the same to the Detroit Red Wings for obvious reasons (here’s looking at you, Dylan Larkin). But perhaps we shouldn’t forget their coming-of-age roster has had a winning record over each of the last three seasons and knocked on the door in two of them.

I’d imagine the Canadiens aren’t overlooking them.

Still, the Red Wings obviously don’t pose the biggest threat to this Canadiens season. The mirror does.

What if they look in it and realize the bar’s been set too high to clear?

After all, the Canadiens are coming off a 106-point season and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Final. Their captain, Nick Suzuki, posted 101 points and won the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward.

His linemate, Cole Caufield, became the first player in the organization to top 50 goals since Stephane Richer did it in 1990. And the pressure for them and their teammates to follow up that impressive act is so palpable that when owner Geoff Molson was asked at the annual golf tournament Monday about his expectations for the season, he sidestepped the question like he was dodging a hip check from Xhekaj.

“I don’t like using the word expectation, necessarily,” Molson started. “For me to use the word expectation for the team, I don’t think it’s the right word.

“We’re proud of them, they did great last year, and I have no doubt that they’re going to come back and try to be even better this year.”

When Canadiens president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton came out 10 minutes later and balked at defining what a successful season would look like for the team before saying, “The guys want to be good, they know we have a good team, they know we’re moving in the right direction, and we try not to add any pressure to that,” it certainly spoke to his concern about the bubbling hype in the market.

The Canadiens have earned it, no doubt. They’ve put one foot in front of the other through each of the last four seasons of this rebuild.

But this step out of it is a huge leap, and we’re going to find out over the coming months if the Canadiens are indeed ready to take it without tripping.

Salary cap space: $2,783,924 (according to PuckPedia.com)

Head coach: Martin St. Louis

Assistant coaches: Derek Lalonde, Stephane Robidas

Unsigned players: None

Key additions: Chris Kreider

Key subtractions: Patrik Laine, Brendan Gallagher, Joe Veleno

1. Where Arber Xhekaj fits

Don’t be surprised if it’s up front once everyone’s healthy, with five defencemen in Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Noah Dobson, Kaiden Guhle and Alex Carrier ahead in the pecking order and Xhekaj and Jayden Struble being pushed by ready-for-primetime players like Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher.

Of course, Guhle’s potential short-term absence might obscure that possibility for now. But if the Canadiens intend on giving Xhekaj some runway at forward at one point or another this season, testing it out in camp feels like a good idea.

Testing it out actually feels necessary, because being able to use Xhekaj and his brother, Florian, on a line together as nuclear deterrents to the Tkachuks when Florida rolls around — or the Lightning, Sens, Bruins and Leafs, who are all built brawnier than in recent memory — is something this team needs to be able to do.

2. How the goaltending shakes out

Hughes was unequivocal: He’s fine with starting camp with three goalies but has no intention of keeping three around to start the season.

That’s good news for Jakub Dobes, who’s under virtually no threat to lose the starting position in a camp that’ll run less than two weeks and feature only three pre-season games (two of them with split squads).

What’s less clear is what it means for Jacob Fowler, who’s still eligible to return to the American Hockey League without having to clear waivers.

Not that he should be planning to.

Fowler’s a big part of the Canadiens future but can also be a big part of their present if given the opportunity. And given his performance over the last year, it wouldn’t surprise us if he jumped up and grabbed it.

Though again, the 21-year-old’s got limited runway over a short camp to do that.

Does Samuel Montembeault have enough time to show he’ll be more like the guy who finished top five in the NHL in goals saved above expected two years ago rather than the guy who seemingly couldn’t save most of the shots he was expected to last year? Will another team out there see enough from him over a limited sample to trade for the final year of his $3.15-million contract?

If not, could Montembeault be waived and parked in the AHL in favour of Fowler?

Hughes’ response on the issue guarantees these questions will be answered soon.

3. Who’s left without a chair?

Remember that overflow I mentioned? The one at forward makes you wonder if all the regulars starting camp will be finishing it with the Canadiens.

Hey, depth stimulates internal competition, and that’s all well and good.

But depleting a bit of it to free up more cap space for a GM still looking for a premium piece up front is not only better but also seemingly necessary.

If Hughes doesn’t make a move or two soon, he certainly will before he eventually adds. And he could end up subtracting more than just one player, especially with some young ones currently pushing for spots and other young ones set to arrive later this season (here’s looking at you, Michael Hage).

If no other top-six forward is added before camp breaks, Chris Kreider starts the season on a line with Suzuki and Caufield.

Why? Because Juraj Slafkovsky can drive a line with Ivan Demidov and either one of Oliver Kapanen or Alex Newhook and Kreider proved in riding shotgun with Troy Terry and Leo Carlson with the Anaheim Ducks last season that he’s still got the finishing ability and all-around game to excel in this role.

It helps that coach Martin St. Louis already knows what he has with Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky. Whenever he wishes to reunite them, he’ll be assured it’ll flow.

But starting Kreider with Suzuki and Caufield, and Slafkovsky with Demidov and whomever, could offer the Canadiens better balance up front. Think of the trickle-down effect for the other two lines, as well, because they're loaded with the talent, experience and versatility to feast on weaker matchups.

Alexandre Texier — Phillip Danault — Josh Anderson

Kirby Dach, Florian Xhekaj

*Kaiden Guhle (assuming he doesn’t start the season on time, one of Adam Engstrom or David Reinbacher would be in this slot)