The 2024-25 season saw a dramatic leap forward by the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens. They started off slowly, but finished the regular season strong, earning the final Eastern Conference wild-card berth. While they did lose to the Washington Capitals in the first round, the Canadiens showed that they can and will compete for a playoff position.
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However, general manager (GM) Kent Hughes would be the first to admit that his rebuild is not nearly complete. There are significant needs to be filled before they can be considered a completed work. The 2025-26 season holds some promise of another step forward, yet they will need to find a way to replace the lost assets on the penalty killing (PK) units and keep their goals against (GA) down.
The Canadiens’ Lost Boys
One of the keys to the Canadiens’ 2024-25 success and playoff berth was the PK that ranked ninth in the NHL with a 80.9 per cent success rate. But the Canadiens are now facing the loss of not just one, but of three of their top PK performers. Christian Dvorak has signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, Joel Armia left for the Los Angeles Kings, and David Savard has retired. Armia was paired with Jake Evans on the top PK unit and they formed one of the better duos in the league while contributing six of the nine shorthanded goals last season. Evans remains in Montreal, but the loss of Armia’s size, speed, and ability to fill lanes will hurt the team’s effectiveness on the PK.
Dvorak had played with Josh Anderson on the team’s second unit. Dvorak was a solid faceoff man and was called upon late in games and during PKs to win faceoffs, something he had done at a 55.8% rate. Savard may be the most impactful loss on the PK. He was second on the team in PK minutes last season, with just under 240, and he also led the team in blocked shots with 180. It’s true that he had lost a step and wasn’t able to use mobility to compete, but his strong hockey IQ and physicality allowed him to make life difficult on opposing power plays. Most of all, it’s his leadership and calming presence that will be missed.
Losing nearly half of the team’s top penalty killers could be a real gut punch and hurt their effectiveness until their replacements become acclimatized to and buy into their new roles. These roles will now be an open audition at training camp and will provide an open lane to anyone capable of performing.
Canadiens Must Find Replacements
The top PK unit has two gaping holes to fill, Armia’s and Savard’s. A logical choice to step up into Armia’s would be Anderson. He was on the second unit alongside Dvorak last season and could easily be moved to the first unit to play alongside Evans. Like Armia, Anderson is big, physical, can fill lanes, and also use his speed as a weapon (especially when transitioning the puck up the ice). This could help keep the top unit a threat to score shorthanded goals like it was last season.
On defence, it will be very difficult to replace Savard. A logical choice to fill that role, because he is also a right-handed veteran defender, is Alexandre Carrier. In his 51 games , he had 120 blocked shots, so he has the necessary skill set. He is mobile and uses body positioning to defend, so there will be a dip in the physical cost of attacking the Canadiens’ net in comparison to Savard. However, he would be a logical pairing with Mike Matheson, as together they are able to collect pucks and clear the zone quickly while adding the veteran stability and calming effect needed to excel in this role.
With the competition for ice time and roles in the top unit, that means there will be some graduating (such as Anderson and Carrier) out of the second unit. While it is likely the PK will suffer a setback in effectiveness as they settle into their new roles, their graduation upwards leaves their spots on the second unit wide open for competition.
Creativity Key for Canadiens PK
The hope would be that the newly-signed Joe Veleno could take on some of these responsibilities, especially at centre, as he does have experience playing on the PK. His poor showing in the faceoff circle (46.5%) makes it unlikely he will do more than spot duty. Unless a young centre such as Owen Beck or Oliver Kapanen forces their way onto the roster by embracing this type of role, the burden will likely fall onto Nick Suzuki to win the faceoffs. This will force even more ice time onto their top centre, who will be relied upon to play in every other situation. That means that someone like Veleno or even Kirby Dach has an opening to take on some of that ice time after the puck clears the zone, and head coach Martin St. Louis can make a change on the fly.
Because Anderson is likely to be moved up St. Louis could use two centres to start the shift before making the change on the fly. Alex Newhook could become a solid penalty killer in this spot. He is a speedster, can play any forward position, and has good offensive instincts he can use to read and react to emerging plays.
It’s on defence that things get a little trickier. With Carrier moved up to the top unit, Kaiden Guhle is left to anchor the second unit, a role he took on last season. This could be a great way for Arber Xhekaj to earn more ice time by winning himself a permanent role, which could cement him on the third pairing. Xhekaj’s physicality offers a significant upside; however, that will depend on whether he can find a way to play that style in a disciplined way and avoid taking too many penalties. This is why Jayden Struble will be in the hunt for this role as well. Some fans don’t understand what Struble brings that is so much better than Xhekaj and could put the former in the lineup over the latter because the intimidation factor Xhekaj brings does impact the game. In comparison, if both played 82 games, prorating their hits and penalty minutes, Struble would have 181 hits and 76 penalty minutes (PIM) compared to Xhekaj’s 210 hits and 138 PIM. Struble’s ability to play a more consistently-disciplined style while still playing a physical brand will make it a real competition in camp.
Players like David Reinbacher, Samuel Blais, Beck, Struble and several others have an opportunity to win permanent NHL roles with Montreal. Training camp is where we will see more of what the Canadiens will do to fill those key positions vacated by Savard, Armia and Dvorak. The fact that so many roles are left open leaves opportunity for the young players trying to graduate and those willing to embrace these roles, even if it means sacrificing their desire to provide or fill offensive help. The PK may see an early decline in effectiveness, but with the depth of players they can rotate in, the final results should be as effective as the 2024-25 season. How the Canadiens choose to fill these roles will provide fans the best internal competition to watch unfold through training camp.
