If you thought Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky broke out in his sophomore season, when he scored 20 goals and 50 points, you clearly hadn’t seen anything yet. The 2022 first-overall pick torched his personal bests in 2025-26 when he hit the 30-goal mark for the first time and scored 73 total points, effectively making good on his draft pedigree.
While the bar has obviously been raised as a result, everyone has a much clearer idea of Slafkovsky’s potential, when, at the time the Canadiens selected him, it was far from a sure thing he would ever reach (and then maintain) top-line status on the team, as the valedictorian of a relatively weak draft class. Granted, it remains to be seen if he’ll stay there, but, regardless, he still serves as the ideal-case scenario and hopefully inspiration for the following five breakout candidates on the Habs for 2026-27:
Kirby Dach
Forward Kirby Dach has been here before. After having been acquired by the Canadiens from the Chicago Blackhawks the same night they picked Slafkovsky, Dach seemed to make good on the faith the Habs showed in him in his debut season, when he scored 38 points in 58 games the following season.
However, the former-third-overall pick (2019), has yet to reach those same heights over 82 games since. In fact, he has yet to so much as play as many games in the three campaigns since. Now a restricted free agent, he shouldn’t be guaranteed to be back after he scored just 15 points in 37 games, as his injuries unfortunately add up with each passing year.
The plus side is Dach had a decent playoffs, on which he can hopefully build. He’s still just 25. And, for context, defenseman Mike Matheson really only achieved upper-echelon status, albeit over a single season, when he scored a career-high 62 points in 2023-24 going on age 30. While Dach is unlikely to develop into the second-line centre the Canadiens thought they were trading for in 2022, he clearly still has skill. The first step would be for the Habs to acknowledge that internally, before they hopefully re-sign him ahead of next season.
Jacob Fowler
Between both goalies the Canadiens played these past playoffs, Jakub Dobes had probably been seen as the unlikelier candidate between the two to break out last season. And yet, despite finding himself as the odd man out on occasion as the Habs ill advisedly rotated between three (Samuel Montembeault), Dobes emerged as the team’s starter in the playoffs, during which he posted a 2.66 goals-against average and .908 save percentage, figures that would put him firmly in legitimate No. 1 territory, were he to keep up the pace in 2026-27.
It’s perfectly rational to have faith that Dobes will continue to find success. However, Montembeault had near-universally been seen as the team’s No. 1 heading into 2025-26, albeit as a placeholder for Jacob Fowler, the Canadien’s top goaltending prospect (and one of the top goaltending prospects in all of hockey). Fowler’s status as such hasn’t necessarily changed, but Montembeault faltering to the degree he did is proof things can.
Fowler displayed a great potential in the games he played this past season. No one’s necessarily betting against Dobes, but, assuming the Habs keep Fowler up, should Dobes G-d forbid get injured, they must feel reassured to know his current projected backup has the skill to just as easily follow in his skates and win critical games down the stretch.
Oliver Kapanen
Some may argue Oliver Kapanen already broke out when he scored a third-ranked 22 goals (among rookies) this past season. However, in scoring just 37 points (and then going pointless in seven playoff games and getting scratched in the others), he has more to prove before he establishes himself as a top-six mainstay.
The analytics suggest Kapanen benefitted a great deal from favourable deployment all season alongside Ivan Demidov (who broke out with a rookie-leading 62 points last season). And, true as that may be, Kapanen will still just be 23 to start next season. While he has further to go before he establishes himself as regular offensive contributor, he also has a lot more to grow.
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
Seeing as the Canadiens played bottom-six-forward Jake Evans in Kapanen’s place between Demidov and Alex Newhook during the playoffs, it’s generally assumed the Habs are not comfortable heading into next season with the status quo on Line 2 intact in any fashion. They’re logically looking to acquire a centre to take Kapanen’s place, but it’s also possible Kapanen returns in that capacity as well and reinforces the narrative in some circles that he just hit a wall. In such an instance, it’s just as logical Kapanen one-ups his production. The degree to which he hypothetically does is obviously up for debate.
Will Kapanen have broken out, then?
Zachary Bolduc
Forward Zachary Bolduc had been a prime candidate to break out last season after having been acquired for defenseman Logan Mailloux the previous offseason, after having scored 19 goals and 36 points for the St. Louis Blues in 2024-25. Those sentiments seemed justified when he burst out of the starting gate with goals in his first three games as a Hab.
Unfortunately, instead of developing into a top-six forward, Bolduc regressed somewhat, finding himself deployed more so in a bottom-six role. He still scored 12 goals and 30 points, and, at Age 23, the 2021 first-round pick (17th overall) obviously has a lot of runway left to take those next developmental steps, perhaps as soon as in 2026-27.
Alex Newhook
Take Newhook for instance. At Age 26, he achieved hero status in the postseason when he scored seven goals, including two Game 7 series-winning markers. Similar to with Kapanen, some would argue Newhook benefitted from playing with Demidov. That’s hard to disprove in that he scored six goals and 12 points in his first 15 games last season, a 66-point pace, when he has never before so much as reached 40.
A lot of that has to do with injuries, to be fair. Case in point, soon after his hot start, Newhook suffered a broken ankle that kept him out of the lineup for over three months. His performance these past playoffs showed he’s not only completely healthy but also hinted at his potential as the player taken right after newly minted 50-goal-scorer Cole Caufield in 2019 (16th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche, acquired in 2023 for a slew of futures).
Now, Slafkovsky’s spot on the top line appears safe, after his breakout season. Amid rumours the Canadiens were in on Toronto Maple Leafs winger Matthew Knies at the trade deadline, Newhook would likely have been the odd man out in the top six, but then he had the postseason he did. That makes it hard to justify shelling out the reported two first-round picks and two prospects, including Alexander Zharovsky (who coincidentally also projects as a potential linemate of Demidov’s based on the history between the two) for Knies.
That isn’t to say Newhook would have more success playing with Demidov than Knies. However, coming off a career-high 66-point season, Knies effectively put up the amount Newhook had been projected to score to start last season (before getting hurt). As a result, there shouldn’t be any rush to trade for someone to replace Newhook on the Demidov line. He’s at least earned a new-look on the line (one would think).
It’s up to him to make good on it (over a full regular season).
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