Questions don’t necessarily “plague” the Montreal Canadiens, who, at 23-13-6, sit impressively in third place in the Atlantic Division, two points out of first place. However, there are definitely things that are impossible to know regarding the outlook of their 2025-26 season, even after a hugely successful first half.
Having effectively silenced the doubters heading into the season, who questioned if their success last season was a fluke and if they can even get back to the playoffs, the Canadiens have little else to prove. Sure, they technically have to get back there, but more so for themselves, not anyone else.
In having played over .600 hockey for more than a full calendar at this point, the Canadiens seem to be more so on the verge of reaching the league’s upper echelon of teams rather than regressing. If “how long will it take for them to get there” is off the table, here are five questions that stick to the traditional five “Ws” and that they will answer one way or another before the end of the season:
5. Where Will the Canadiens Finish in the Standings?
Let’s get this out of the way early, because it’s only barely worth acknowledging. While it is admittedly far from a certainty (a little bit more than) halfway through the season, it does look like the Canadiens are a playoff-calibre team.
Can the Canadiens realistically fall out of a spot, seeing as they’re only five up on the ninth-place Florida Panthers, who hold one game in hand? Certainly. However, in full acknowledgement they have only improved in the standings every year since finishing in last place in 2021-22 and are only getting better as the youngest team in the league, one rife with skill, it’s likelier than not they’ll improve on their wild-card finish from last season.
That prompts the question how far up the standings can they go and maybe, just maybe, “Can they earn home ice?”
4. Who Will Make up the Canadiens’ Goaltending Tandem?
Assuming the Canadiens keep up their current 100-plus-point pace and make the postseason, hard decisions will have to be made, including to which goalie head coach Martin St. Louis gives the first start. Up to now, none of Sam Montembeault, who was recently demoted to and promoted from the American Hockey League, Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler have grabbed the reins, prompting the Habs to go with three on-roster goalies, because that obviously worked out so well the last time back in 2023-24.
Related: Canadiens Must Ride or Die with Dobes in Net
You have to believe that, if the Canadiens do fall down the standings, inconsistent goaltending will be a primary culprit based on the numbers of every Habs goalie not named Jacob (and to a lesser extent Jakub). And, yet, Fowler, as one of the best goaltending prospects in the game, should probably be playing more often than every third game.
So, the crowded crease presents a definite conundrum for general manager Kent Hughes, especially with the third man taking up an invaluable roster spot. It’s got to be two down the stretch, but which two?
3. When Will the Canadiens Get Back to Full Health?
That roster spot is going to come in handy (hopefully).
While defenseman Mike Matheson seems to have escaped a long-term injury after having gotten hit in the head by Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand a few games ago, that’s been one bit of good news in a sea of bad concerning the overall health of the team. Forward Josh Anderson got hurt the very next game (which Matheson did miss). Even if he’s similarly day-to-day (at least right now), centre Jake Evans, who also got hurt during the holiday period, wasn’t as lucky.
Evans joins a long list of key Canadiens, headlined by defenseman Kaiden Guhle, whose shutdown style should enable them to tighten up in their own zone, who have been out for a while. Some, including Guhle, are theoretically on the verge of returning, but, especially in his case based on his injury history and how he was initially only supposed to be out six weeks starting mid-October, it’s kind of a believe-it-when-you-see-it situation.
Canadiens are being cautious with Kirby Dach’s return from a fractured foot. We’re at the six-week mark, but might be just a bit longer before he’s ????.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 1, 2026
Meanwhile, Kaiden Guhle trending in the right direction. Some optimism he could be back shortly after Habs return from the road.
Considering how well the Canadiens have fared, at least in the standings, with everyone out, when they do eventually get healthy (assuming there is a point at which that fantasy becomes a reality), additional questions present themselves. For example: Who sits? And, perhaps even more intriguingly, how much stronger will the on-ice product become?
2. Why Are Beck and Engstrom Still with the Canadiens?
Sure, injuries will continue to arise to a degree and are an undeniable part of life in the NHL. However, keeping prospects like centre Owen Beck and defenseman Adam Engstrom on the roster and failing to play them consistently is a head-scratcher when they could be receiving regular ice time with the Laval Rocket.
For example, prior to playing against the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars this past weekend (on Joe Veleno’s wing and not down the middle), Beck had been kept out of four straight games. Engstrom was meanwhile scratched in both those games.
Obviously, in St. Louis’ defense (that of the coach, not the Blues), he has to balance the playing time of a young roster in general, getting other players like Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble in the lineup too. Why not just focus on keeping those defensemen in the lineup while keeping Engstrom with the Rocket? Especially in the context of the team’s insistence on rotating three goalies, this is clearly a strategy of some kind. What is it, though?
1. What Will Hughes Do at the Trade Deadline?
Some may suggest Beck and Engstrom are still with the team so they can be showcased for the purposes of a potential trade at the March 6 deadline, so that the Canadiens can acquire missing pieces to the puzzle to go for it now. However, they would need to dress consistently for that to realistically be the case.
With that in mind, the trade deadline is a date all Canadiens fans should circle in their calendars. It’s really the first time under Hughes’ watch where, after infamously holding off from selling off assets last year at captain Nick Suzuki’s suggestion (theoretically contributing to the playoff finish), he’s in a position to strengthen his team for a playoff run.
Technically, the Canadiens have already started, having re-acquired Phillip Danault. And Sammy Blais, who had seemingly been signed as a free agent to add a degree of toughness to the team following their first-round loss to the Washington Capitals last spring, is finally contributing (after having been re-acquired himself via waivers).
Furthermore, reinforcements are on the way as the Canadiens get healthier but clear weaknesses remain ever-present. So, Hughes finds himself in something of a predicament without a clear answer. There are pros and cons to whatever move he makes (or doesn’t). Complicating the issue, it isn’t exactly a yes/no question. None of these are. And just about anything can happen.