Canadiens accept expectations, ‘definitely want more’ after playoff berth

LAVAL, Quebec -- Under cloudless skies with balmy mid-September temperatures, the Montreal Canadiens assembled at Laval-sur-le-Lac Golf Club on Monday for their annual tournament to benefit the organization's Children’s Foundation.

The most vital expectations for the day, expressed by the team that surprised many last season by qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, were its hopes for a decent scorecard and as little stickhandling as possible around 18 putting greens.

The biggest news of the morning, as Canadiens management, coach Martin St. Louis and players met the usual huge media gathering, was that forward Kirby Dach is working toward being ready for the start of the regular season.

“Kirby looks great, he feels great, he’s healthy, we have a plan in place to get him ready for opening night, so that’s what we’re going to try to do,” Canadiens executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said. “We might be a little bit slow off the mark with him, but our plan is to have him (ready) opening night.”

Montreal plays its season opener Oct. 8 at the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Canadiens had hopes that Dach would be their second-line center, on the depth chart behind captain Nick Suzuki. But the 24-year-old has played 59 games the past two seasons, undergoing two operations on his right knee.

Members of the 2025-26 Montreal Canadiens pose for a team photo before their annual charity golf tournament.

In the third season of a stay-the-course rebuilding plan, the 2024-25 Canadiens (40-31-11) surprised many when they were the youngest team to qualify for the playoffs. Their five-game loss to the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference First Round did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the organization top to bottom, and its rabid fan base.

The hottest spotlight shone throughout the season on Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Lane Hutson. With 66 points (six goals, 60 assists) in 82 games, Hutson’s stellar maiden season saw him voted NHL rookie of the year as he very quickly became a fan favorite in Montreal.

Now comes Hutson’s second season, the 21-year-old quietly aiming to build on the foundation he poured as a rookie.

“I think it’s a privilege to be able to play every day,” Hutson said, marveling at the size of the media crowd gathered near the clubhouse steps. “To have those (high) expectations is obviously really special. We have a group of guys who are hungry. We had a taste of it and we definitely want more.”

Hutson knows the Calder Trophy only increases the strength of the microscope under which he’ll play in Montreal and beyond, and he’s eager to push his game to a higher level.

Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki with team legend Yvan Cournoyer, who 50 years ago on Sept. 15, 1975, was elected the 12th captain in franchise history.

“Just being able to be adaptable, to continue to learn,” Hutson said of his focus. “I’m not a finished product by any means as a player; I have tons to work on. I’m going to continue to grow and adapt, find out what works and what doesn’t work. Just pure excitement to get going again.”

This summer, he said, was one of “getting faster, stronger, doing more of the same, trying to figure what other steps I can take in the mental sharpness of the game. To see what worked last year and didn’t work, balance it out, try to figure out how to be better.

“I never really focus on goals like that,” he said of his Calder Trophy. “Just play, develop and try to help the team win hockey games and have fun. My goal stays the same this year.”

The Canadiens added a few new faces during the offseason. Among them, defenseman Noah Dobson by trade from the New York Islanders, with forward Zack Bolduc arriving by trade from the St. Louis Blues.

Crowd-pleasing forward Ivan Demidov, just 19, played two regular-season games and five in the playoffs, and now sets off into his rookie season.

It wasn’t a frantic summer for general manager Kent Hughes, who joked about the leisurely pace that he said was “by far the quietest summer since I’ve been here,” having been hired as GM in January 2022.

Defenseman Noah Dobson chats with reporters.

“I felt like there were periods of time where I was golfing or doing something, feeling guilty. ‘Get off the course and call people. Am I the only one? Am I missing something?’” Hughes added with a laugh. “It’s been quiet. All we can do is stay in touch with people and try to have our finger on the pulse of the League and different teams in case something is happening that could make sense to us.”

That very much reflects the Canadiens’ strategy of building for the long term, of not leaping into something simply for short-term gain.

Of this rebuild, team owner Geoff Molson said, “Is it going faster (that expected)? No. Is it going slower? No. It’s just an outstanding performance by Jeff and Kent to have the patience to build and to stay on plan. If we’re not the youngest team, we’re one of the youngest teams in the NHL again this year with a lot of potential. We’re sticking to the plan, but if an opportunity comes to get better quicker that doesn’t impact our plan, that’s a good plan as well.

“The expectations are that we provide, as we did last year, an outstanding experience for our fans, but most importantly that we progress and keep building to have a good team for the very long term.”

Of course, a playoff berth last season is no guarantee of a return engagement. That said, Gorton was firm in saying that he’d not rank a postseason miss as a failure.

Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki answers questions from reporters before the team’s charity golf tournament.

“I don’t like the word failure,” Gorton said. “We all want the playoffs, we all want to keep moving forward. We’re trying to build something for a long period of time. I like our group; let’s see where it takes us. We’d be disappointed (to not make the playoffs). We want it, the players have been outspoken about that, I wouldn’t expect anything else.

“The players don’t want to hear ‘rebuild’ or anything like that, I understand that. The players are focused, they like their team, they like their group. You can see how tight-knit they are. They’re ready to go. I think 750 players in the League all think they’re making the playoffs, and our players are no different.”

The lofty expectations beyond the organization, St. Louis said, are pretty much white noise to those who run the team and play the games.

“The expectations are probably more from you guys,” he said of the media. “We’re just moving along. We want to keep progressing. We’re not too worried about the noise outside. We’re just getting after it internally.”

Suzuki paused on the clubhouse steps to mingle with Canadiens legend Yvan Cournoyer, who 50 years ago on this day -- Sept. 15, 1975 -- was named captain.

“The Roadrunner” -- No. 12 voted the team’s 12th captain in his 12th season -- would win the Stanley Cup four consecutive seasons wearing the “C,” the seventh through 10th of his career, then retire.

“I think I’m a little behind,” Suzuki joked to Cournoyer.

A perfect 7 a.m. sky at Laval-sur-le-Lac Golf Club awaiting the Canadiens’ annual tournament. Geoff Molson joked that conditions have been perfect for 16 of the 17 years that he’s owned the team.

“From management, coaches and players, we all have the same belief and the same goal in mind,” Suzuki said of the 2025-26 season. “We’re really trying to build something special here. We’ve been able to do that over the last few years, we’ve acquired a lot of great talent, it’s about putting that all together.

“We lost some pieces and gained some pieces (since last season). It will be about getting that chemistry back as a full team and getting back to the way we were playing at the end of the season, at a high level.

“We had a lot of pressure over that last few months and we gained a lot of experience. Inside our room, we had higher expectations than everyone outside our room. Now everyone knows we’re a good team and can compete with everybody and win those games. It’s just a matter of putting it all together through camp and have a good start.”

Top photo: Defenseman Lane Hutson on a putting green at Laval-sur-le-Lac before the Montreal Canadiens’ 2025 charity golf tournament to benefit the team’s Children’s Foundation.