Canadien Players Set to Rebound in 2026-27 From Poor Seasons

Both Brendan Gallagher and Sam Montembeault are coming off bad seasons for the Montreal Canadiens, but neither will appear on this list of the likeliest Habs to rebound in 2026-27. The reason is simple, in that both top a separate list of the likeliest players not to return.

Even if they did, which is an undeniable possibility, Gallagher is 34, and, despite seeing a relatively impressive uptick in production in 2024-25, his numbers have been generally trending lower for a half-decade. That was the case again in 2025-26. In his defense, that’s more so on the effects of time and the resulting decisions made by the team than him personally though, as the rugged forward’s ice time dropped to 12:21 per game and he started to get scratched down the stretch of the regular season into the playoffs. On the off chance the Canadiens fail to find a trade partner to honour his apparent desire to get a fresh start elsewhere, he won’t have suddenly found a magic portal to climb up the depth chart over the likes of players just entering their primes.

Truth be told, Gallagher would indeed have a better chance to put up better numbers were he to be traded away from what the youngest team in the NHL to start last season. It’s a similar story for Montembeault. As things stand now, in a best-case scenario, after Jakub Dobes took over the starting job after the trade deadline and posted the best goals-saved-above-expected-per-60 figure of all netminders in the playoffs (13.3, 4.8 above Dan Vladar of the Philadelphia Flyers, who was second, per MoneyPuck.com), he’s only going to serve as a backup in a realistic best-case scenario. And that’s before you take top-prospect Jacob Fowler into consideration.

Of the two, you’d think Montembeault would be likelier to rebound after posting a 3.43 goals-against average and .872 save percentage, at least on a new team. The odds are at least in his favour, because it’s hard to imagine a second consecutive season like that on the part of a goalie who made Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off Team to start the 2025 calendar year. The stark contrast between his last two seasons presents some hope he can, even if it is on another team. In terms of the Canadiens projected to stay in Montreal though, here are the top three:

Phillip Danault

Few would have considered Canadiens forward Phillip Danault for a list like this based on how he started the season with just five assists in 30 games, playing for the Los Angeles Kings, the team for which he left the Habs as a free agent in 2021. However, after a mid-season trade, Danault posted six goals and six assists the rest of the way before catching relative fire in the postseason with 10 points in 19 games.

Will Danault ever hit the same production levels he did in his prime, playing on the Canadiens’ No. 1 line with Gallagher (or even with the Kings a few years ago)? Probably not, as he’s only one year younger. However, it’s clear he’s a good fit and his defensive awareness is something on which head coach Martin St. Louis has come to rely, making him a good candidate to continue to get fairly significant ice time.

Noah Dobson

For those in the know, namely everyone in Montreal, Noah Dobson actually had a good season. He even technically rebounded from a 39-point campaign (71 games) last season with the New York Islanders, which in and of itself was only bad looking at the 70 he scored in 2023-24. That context makes the 47 points he just put up seem disappointing, especially after the Canadiens paid the price they did on the trade market to acquire him last summer and then in the form of his new eight-year, $76 million contract.

However, whereas Dobson quarterbacked the Islanders’ power play those last two season, he not only played second fiddle to Lane Hutson with the Habs, but ranked eighth in ice time on the man advantage below even Zachary Bolduc. In effect, Dobson scored as many points at even strength (39) as he did in his final season with the Islanders overall. With some luck (and a full recovery from the broken hand he suffered in Game 80, which hampered his offensive effectiveness upon his eventual return in the playoffs), the 26-year-old defenseman could up his point totals even more as he enters his prime.

Kaiden Guhle

It was a frustrating season for Kaiden Guhle after being limited to a career-low two goals and 11 points through 39 games after missing significant time due to injury once again. He had tried to play through a partially torn adductor muscle early in the season but eventually opted for surgery. He arguably never found a lasting stride once he returned.

While offense isn’t Guhle’s calling card as an all-around, defensively aware defenseman, his Corsi For rating of 45.4% (five-on-five, per MoneyPuck.com) was underwhelming. He was last among all Canadiens defensemen in that one category and took a step back, instead of continuing to display year-over-year progression in his career (46.4% in 2024-25 for the record, but arguably a stat, which, in tracking the team’s share of shot attempts, is representative of his overall effectiveness in his own zone).

Injuries have obviously plagued Guhle. Through four seasons (328 possible games), he’s made just 208 appearances. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to find more consistency and accompanying statistical progression in 2026-27. At 24, he too is entering the prime of his career, which is a common trend for players on the team in general. With the experience they’ve continued to gain, the Canadiens have only improved in the standings since finishing last in 2022. So, with a rising tide lifting all boats, it’s easy to see greater success in Guhle’s future, with the obvious caveat being that he just needs to play.