Most Underrated Montreal Canadiens for 2026-27

As a whole, the Montreal Canadiens are pretty underrated, which probably serves them just fine. The better to take opponents by surprise in 2026-27.

Granted, they admittedly did just get outclassed in a five-game third-round defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes this spring. However, a few things should be brought to the attention of anyone who ignorantly chooses to claim the Canadiens didn’t deserve to be there:

• It was again Round 3, leaving the Canadiens one of four teams left standing.
• As the sixth-ranked team in the entire NHL, the Canadiens had just beaten the fifth (Tampa Bay Lightning) and fourth-best (Buffalo Sabres) teams in grueling seven-game series to get to that point.
• The eventual-Stanley Cup-champion Hurricanes lost in a just-as-lopsided five-game series in Round 3 in 2025.

Corey Pronman justifies ranking Zach Benson 124th, even after a strong playoff performance, by saying he “played against two shitty playoff teams” in Montreal and Boston. Scott Wheeler pushes back. #LetsGoBuffalo #GoHabsGo #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/DjDQHiGVcJ

— josh libfeld (@josh_libfeld) August 20, 2026

So, the Canadiens may not be legit contenders in the minds of absolutely everyone. However, even players who are generally perceived to be among their weakest are actually solid contributors, making the lineup fairly strong from top to bottom, almost literally in the case of the following three names, who make up this list of the team’s most underrated Habs for 2026-27:

3. Mike Matheson

Defenseman Mike Matheson impressively straddles the line between being looked down on by fans and swooned over by the media, who made him the team’s Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy nominee… for some reason. Those same voters also made him the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy winner as the team’s top unsung hero, which prompts something of an existential crisis. Are they at risk of overrating the guy for being too underrated?

In this specific case, seeing as Matheson had fairly recently been the team’s top weapon on the blue line before being usurped by Lane Hutson, probably not. However, it’s worth noting that, prior to Hutson bursting on the scene, the former did score a career-high 62 points in 2023-24, which, in one fell swoop, both establishes him as having top-end talent AND seems to contradict any reason as to how he could so much as be seriously considered for the Beauchamp-Molson Trophy. How could he possibly skate under the radar, when he literally plays more than any other Hab?

It’s a definite conundrum. Nevertheless, what’s clear is Matheson has the capability to put up a significant amount of points. And the 37 he just scored in 2025-26 are nothing at which to scoff, especially in the context of how he gets close to zero power-play time and led the league in shorthanded ice time per game. The problem is the penalty kill wasn’t that great at 78.2%.

So, maybe Matheson is just miscast in his current role, as he tries to find his niche as a defenseman on a team blessed with a Hutson. The general perception among fans seems to be he’s struggling, which is why media members might have felt obligated to lift the guy up somewhat. Ultimately, as a result, he drops ever so slightly on this list relative to last year.

2. Noah Dobson

Together with Matheson, Noah Dobson helped form the team’s most-used, arguably top defensive pairing last season, after having been acquired from the New York Islanders the previous summer. It was a sign-and-trade deal that gave him $76 million over eight years, making him the highest-paid player on the team, which is obviously going to open him up to criticism, both of the justified and unjustified variety.

For example, what would be unjustified is looking at the 47 points Dobson scored unfavourably relative to the career-high 70 he did with the New York Islanders in 2023-24. He was getting significantly more power-play time back then (2:59 per game compared to 1:31 this season). So, it should be no wonder that, with him being deployed on the second unit and his time on the man advantage getting halved, his power-play production also dried up from 24 points to 7.

In contrast, Dobson just scored 39 points at even strength, which is much more in line with the 45 he scored in 2023-24. Interestingly though, his 39 even-strength points would rank him fourth on the Islanders, just behind Bo Horvat (40), Matthew Schaefer (41), and Mathew Barzal (52).

Is Dobson perfect? Of course not. You could probably even successfully argue he isn’t worth his high-priced contract. Nevertheless, he’s still an excellent player and a legitimate top-pairing, right-handed defenseman, who has filled the role he has been asked to play perfectly. He may never get back to 70-point territory. However, it wouldn’t be for lack of ability, just him being deployed behind Hutson in purely offensive situations.

The way to look at it is, it’s a luxury for the Canadiens to be able to play Dobson the way they do. He may not have scored as much as he has in the past (although he was more productive than in 2024-25). While it certainly would have been nice had he had, the Habs needed a stabilizing presence on the right instead. Dobson was that and more.

1. Alexandre Texier

Alexandre Texier was rewarded with a new deal for the offensive support he provided soon after the Canadiens inked him as something of a stop-gap measure in the middle of last season. Critics tended to point out the timing, as it was signed days after he had scored three points in back-to-back games (including a hat trick) and eight total in four games, with time spent on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. He then admittedly scored four points (no goals) over his final 19 games of the season, furthering suggestions Hughes rushed to re-sign him.

What his critics tend to actively overlook is Texier’s deal is over two years for $5 million total. For some context, Jake Evans, who scored just 24 points last season, has a slightly higher cap hit at $2.85 million per season. While some may suggest it’s not a fair comparison, because Evans plays in the bottom six, that’s exactly where Texier should play as well.

So, what’s the argument then? That Texier should have continued to score at the pace he did on the top line for the rest of the season before Hughes could justify re-signing him? If he did, it wouldn’t have been for only $2.5 million per season, then. Seriously, spare everyone the fake outrage.

Ultimately, the Canadiens got a bottom-six forward capable of chipping in offensively for a fair price. There’s nothing to overthink. And, with Texier contributing a solid eight points during the team’s playoff run, he’s only continuing to prove he fits in, much to the chagrin of any naysayers. He may not be a top-line player by trade, but he’s delivering — and this can’t be stressed enough — exactly what he’s being paid to do. For a market that’s theoretically starved for French-speaking talent, Texier should be welcomed with open arms. One would think, anyway.