5 Non-Free Agent Canadiens Least Likely to Return for 2026-27

At the team’s end-of-season media availability, current-Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine confirmed what everyone with brain waves strongly suspected: He was healthy to end the season, but just couldn’t get into the lineup, which effectively translates to the Habs having determined they had other options up front that gave them a better chance to win.

Right or wrong, as a result of that mindset the “current” tag likely has an expiry date of July 1, when Laine becomes an unrestricted free agent. However, as alluded to earlier, none of that is surprising based on his inability to stay healthy and then get into the lineup once he was, despite his undeniable power-play prowess resulting in a team-leading 15 power-play goals (20 total) last season after appearing in just 52 games. In comparison, the single assist he tallied in five games this season make him fairly obsolete, all due respect to him, when looking at the (you’d think) irrefutable success the team enjoyed without him.

Dissenters to opinions that are generally accepted as fact are as common as cars on the road at rush hour, though. For example, Canadiens fans are now hearing many talking heads, coincidentally or not coming disproportionately out of Toronto, throw shade at a team that just went to the Eastern Conference Final. And, no, it isn’t the Maple Leafs… and hasn’t been for a quarter-century. How, “fraudulent” of those analysts, who otherwise pass themselves off as objective, wouldn’t you say?

But this specific writer digresses. One thing just about everyone can agree on is Laine won’t be back. However, regarding players who are projected to remain under team control past the start of unrestricted free agency, it’s not as clear-cut: Here are the five non-unrestricted free agents set to not return to the Canadiens for 2026-27, in increasing order of likelihood:

Oliver Kapanen

General manager Kent Hughes said all the right things regarding rookie Oliver Kapanen, who, to his credit, scored a third-ranked 22 goals (among rookies) during the regular season. There’s still no denying Kapanen, similar to Laine, couldn’t get into the lineup during the playoffs, playing just seven of the team’s 19 contests (going pointless).

“Le fait qu’Oliver Kapanen n’ait pas joué ne change pas notre point de vue. Il n’était pas habitué au calendrier de la LNH. On voyait de la fatigue mentale et physique en fin de saison” – Hughes@TVASports

— Nicolas Cloutier (@NCloutierTVA) June 1, 2026

Whether that was just fatigue on his part, as Hughes argued, or just flaws in his overall game that became harder to mask during the postseason, it’s a flag. At this point, coming off a successful rookie season, Kapanen’s value is relatively high, and, while everyone should anticipate him returning as a member of the team’s top 12 and maybe top 6 forwards, no one should be surprised if he’s included as a part of an offseason trade, ideally to upgrade at his position, which, for 90% of the season, was at centre on the second line. If the postseason proved anything, it’s that hole in the lineup (still) represents their biggest one.

Kirby Dach

In comparison, Kirby Dach played all 19 postseason games, impressively so based on his track record for staying healthy. What was most impressive were his contributions against the Lightning in Round 1, when he scored a third-period tying goal in Game 3 (that led to an eventual win) and responded with a highlight-reel marker 11 seconds after Bolts forward Dominic James scored to retake the lead in Game 5 (en route to another win).

Dach added a few additional goals against the Buffalo Sabres in Round 2, but his impact admittedly decreased as time wore on, making it perfectly legitimate on the part of fans to question whether he did enough to be re-signed. As a restricted free agent, Dach is an undeniable asset, especially looking at his draft pedigree and age. So, it is almost unconscionable that the Habs wouldn’t qualify him. And yet…

Forget his status as an RFA. As a projected second-line centre, who has been relegated to the wing in the bottom six, he has been just okay. Maybe “okay” is enough for the Canadiens to want to keep him, at least into the medium term, but it would have to be at a reasonable amount for what he brings to the table. He’s also arbitration-eligible. So, there is a possible scenario in which the Canadiens simply walk away, which would obviously be a shame, but understandable all the same.

Joe Veleno

A one-time first-round pick who had been granted exceptional status to play major junior, Joe Veleno fairly successfully reinvented himself to earn a regular spot on the Canadiens in the wake of a run of injuries early in the season. However, it’s hard to look at what he, another RFA, produced in a bottom-six-centre role and not think the Canadiens would have been better served giving that ice time to a prospect like Owen Beck instead.

Granted, Beck projects as little more than a defensively responsible pivot at this stage, but the two goals and five points Veleno scored as a veteran didn’t really move the needle. They may have earned him Kapanen’s spot in the lineup in the playoffs, after he started off in the press box, but expectations must be higher, based on the talent the Canadiens would be holding back, were they to re-sign and keep playing him in a similar capacity.

Maybe they just… don’t.

Samuel Montembeault

Don’t say never, because there is still a possibility goalie Sam Montembeault plays another game for the Canadiens. However, based on how well Jakub Dobes played since taking the reins late into the season and into the playoffs and the esteem in which they hold prospect Jacob Fowler, it’s much more realistic the next time Montembeault suits up for the organization, if at all, is with the Laval Rocket.

Even then though, he’d have to pass through waivers. Another team is likely to take a chance on Montembeault under those circumstances. So, the Canadiens face three options: keeping three goalies on the main roster in 2026-27, keeping him up to back up Dobes (at Fowler’s expense) or finding a trade partner.

Dobes can still theoretically falter and the potential for injuries does mean having three NHL-calibre goalies can be a blessing. However, it would take a huge twist of fate for Montembeault to regain his status as the team’s starter. He was always widely seen as a placeholder for an upper-echelon goalie, and, while Dobes was the one to seize the opportunity presented to him (instead of the highly regarded Fowler so far), Montembeault’s place has indeed been taken.

It would be fairly on-brand for the Canadiens to give him a chance elsewhere (whether via trade of by sending him through waivers). Just about every option remains on the table, though.

Brendan Gallagher

Everyone kind of knew Brendan Gallagher’s time with the Canadiens was winding down. The 34-year-old’s contract only has one year left and his production wasn’t what it had been over the majority of his 911-game career, all with the Habs. It’s still surprising he won’t end his contract and somewhat off-putting he won’t end his career in this jersey, if his comments at the end-of-season media availability are anything to go by, which they seem to be. He’ll therefore end his tenure as the 14th-leading goal scorer in Canadiens history (246).

Brendan Gallagher, very emotional, says “it’s pretty clear I’ll be moving on here.”

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) June 1, 2026

Had this season gone Gallagher’s way, he had a chance to score 13 more to pass Claude Provost (254), Dickie Moore (254), Howie Morenz (257) and Mario Tremblay (258) to sneak into the Top 10. That’s just one of the many milestones he missed out on this past season, which had been realistically within reach, speaking to the decline that has hit him hard, but understandably so based on the punishment he’s regularly taken over the last 14 years.

Hey, maybe No. 14 fits.

These facts all paint a picture of a player who has given his all to this organization since being drafted at No. 14(!)7 overall in 2010 and making it to the NHL through sheer grit and will. It looks like all that’s left to find out is how he’ll be moved and where he’ll end up, although Vancouver, where he played major junior, seems like a probable destination. Wherever he does, he’ll certainly end up a fan favourite too.