The offseason leading into the 2025-26 season continues, and with the major events such as the NHL Entry Draft and free agent frenzy completed, the dog days of summer wear on as NHL management groups take a bit of a breather before the training camps begin. In this series, I will try to investigate every Montreal Canadiens roster player, recap their last season and look ahead to this upcoming season. I will look at their place in the organization, their role and their possible impact.
Related: Montreal Canadiens: 3 Burning Questions Heading Into 2025-26 Season
In the next step of the series, I will continue looking at the Canadiens’ forward group, this time with the newest addition at forward, Zachary Bolduc.
2024-25 Season Recap
The Canadiens followed up the trade for Noah Dobson by then trading their 22-year-old right-handed defenceman Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for the 22-year-old winger Bolduc. Both players were first-round picks in the 2021 NHL Draft, Bolduc 17th overall and Mailloux 31st. Interestingly, it was the Blues’ general manager (GM) Doug Armstrong who stated that this was a risk for his club. Mailloux competed the majority of the 2024-25 season with the American Hockey League (AHL) Laval Rocket, but by many accounts, he is ready to make the leap to the NHL. But with Dobson on the roster, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes saw an opportunity to trade from a position of strength to add a budding power forward in Bolduc.
Bolduc had a bit of a slow start to the 2024-25 season as he adjusted to the NHL game, but he finished the season with 19 goals and 36 points in 72 games. But he truly found his stride after the 4 Nations tournament. Bolduc scored 13 goals in those 26 games played to finish the regular season. Bally Sports analyst Jamie Rivers believes that the real catalyst for Bolduc was the coaching change when Jim Montgomery was brought in as the Blues’ new head coach. Rivers stated that “He’s just scratching the surface … If Jim Montgomery had been the head coach all season long, Zack Bolduc would have had 25-30 goals”.
Over the course of the season, the 6-foot, 187-pound forward only averaged 12:48 of ice time per game with the Blues but finished eighth in points and tied for fourth in goals among all NHL rookies. His seven power-play goals had him finish only one goal behind budding superstar Macklin Celebrini. His play on the power play was a factor in the Blues qualifying for the playoffs. But his effectiveness at even strength made him a highly effective NHL forward.
Even as a rookie, his possession and offensive advanced statistics were all positive. Just looking at his Corsi For percentage of 50.75% and expected goals for percentage of 53.32% highlights this. Most impressive, however, are his defensive numbers. He finished second on the Blues in expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60) and third in high danger chances against per 60 (HDCA/60).
2025-26 Season Expectations
Bolduc has always been viewed as a goal-scorer. In his final two seasons in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), playing for the Quebec Remparts, Bolduc scored 105 goals in his 125 games played and had 209 points overall while also playing a key role in winning the 2023 Memorial Cup. But it was his evolution into a two-way power forward that excited executive vice president Jeff Gorton.
“What excites us the most about him is his emergence as a physical power forward; he’s rounding out his game. He’s still getting better.”
-Jeff Gorton
The expectations for Bolduc with Montreal in 2025-26 are going to be high. Based on his two-way play, forechecking style and skating abilities, he will be relied upon to not only be a grinder and puck retrieval player on his line, but also see use as a penalty killer, which will need fresh faces after the roster turnover that has occurred in the summer of 2025. He is likely to be placed on a scoring line while also seeing time on the power play. While it may end up as the second unit, he will get more offensive opportunities. There’s optimism from his former coach, Simon Gagné, that Bolduc has the skill set to reach the 30-goal plateau and succeed under head coach Martin St. Louis.
If he is given this kind of role, 2025-26 could be a breakout season for Bolduc. It would not be unrealistic to expect to see him score 20 to 25 goals and reach the 40 to 45 points plateau. A factor will be if he is used in the top six alongside Kirby Dach, and if Dach finally hits his potential.
It will be vital to integrate into the Canadiens’ roster, finding his niche quickly if he wants to avoid the dreaded “sophomore slump”. His style of play does fit in with the current core group, as they all play a high-paced game. He is also a local player, coming from Trois-Rivières, Quebec, so he is joining his childhood team. He will be joining a much-improved roster in Montreal that will face playoff expectations, but he is more than capable of meeting that kind of challenge.
