Last year the Habs made the playoffs proving a lot of people wrong in the process. The offensive contributions of the top players obviously was a big factor, but hockey is a sport where all your players need to be involved and playing well in order to win consistently. (Panthers are a perfect example)
The Habs deployed a very effective bottom six last year which primarily saw a mix of Evans, Dvorak, Armia, Gally, Anderson and Heineman and Kapanen. At one point, the Habs had a line of Army, Evans and Heineman that was playing some really good hockey and opposing teams really struggled to match their aggressive and relentless forecheck. I won't stop gushing about this guy, but when Heineman went down with an injury after being hit by a damn car, the Habs did not have the same mojo and struggled for a bit with him out of there lineup. I still mourn his loss deeply.
For the 2025-2026 season, I really like what the bottom six is shaping up to be, barring injury and tinkering. Ideally, if everyone is doing fairly well, the third and fourth lines should look something like this:
Bolduc-Newhook-Anderson
This is a line that has a lot of speed, skill and will provide an aggressive forecheck. They can dump ands chase well using their speed, and once the puck is retrieved, they have the required skill to make something happen offensively. Bolduc can shoot, Newhook can pass and Andy the power guy. Really a good balance here, and Bolduc throws the body around also so I foresee a lot of long nights for opposing defensemen.
Kapanen/Veleno-Evans-Gally
Not as speedy as the former like, but a lot of heart, grit and defensive conscious. Gally came back to life last year with 21 goals and not being injured severely for two years in a row has done him good. Evans is the man on the PK and plays very well 5-5. Veleno has shown that he is a very reliable defensive forward and has good size at 6'1. I really like Kapanen. He plays a great two way game and still has a lot of room to develop. He's a big body at 6'2 and I really want to see more of what he has to offer. Personally, I would play Kapanen, but Hughes went out and got some great depth in Veleno.
The Habs had a great bottom six in 2024-2025, but I think it will be even better in 2025-2026.