It seems like it's been an eternity since the Montreal Canadiens have been an offensive team. The last 30 years have seen the Habs play a defensive style, spearheaded by amazing goaltending lead by Carey Price (the greatest goalie of all time). Times have changed and these Canadiens are a high flying offensive team with several players in the top of different offensive categories.
Goal Caufield
I won't say too much as I recently wrote an article centred on Cole, but we finally have a top sniper in the league. He scores in bunches and plays a 200 foot game. For a player who can score 50 goals this is rare. He's one goal behind Nate MacKinnon with 51, and could very well win the Rocket. Not bad for a guy deemed not good enough for the US Olympic team. He's officially a superstar now with a cap hit of 7.85 for the following four seasons (thanks Kent).
Nick Suzuki
He's become a premier player in the league and the question now is where he ranks in the top NHL players at centre. There was a debate between us writers at the outset of the years to who was better, Suzuki or Stutzle. I said Stutzle was a better player, but Suzuki a better teammate and leader. I was wrong, Suzuki is hands down the better player. The question is has he overtaken Matthews in this conversation? Would the Habs trade Suzuki for Matthew 1:1? Doubt it. Would the Leafs? Yep. Nick is at 99 points right now and I hope he can crack the 100 point mark in the remaining games. Also, he has a cap hit of 7.875 for the next four years. (thanks Kent)
Lane Hutson
Again, I won't go too much in depth here as I wrote an article on Lane previously, but he's at 76 points which has him in a tie for third with Hughes for points by defensemen. The difference here is Lane is a +35, while Hughes is a -4, but in his defence, he was playing on an awful Canuks team for a part of the year. He controls games and seems to just be getting better if that is even possible. Also, his cap hit is 8.850 for the following 4 years (thanks Kent)
Ivan Demidov
He currently leads all rookies in points with 61 points and assists with 43. Line Hutson, he can control a shift and is also improving every game. This guy is scary to play against and finally gives the Habs two legit offensive lines. The Habs were able to steal him with the number 5 pick in 2024 after teams passed him over due to the uncertainty of his KHL contract. (thanks Kent)
Oliver Kapenen
He currently has 22 goals which is good enough for second in rookie goal scoring, only one goal behind Shaefer and Sennecke, both amazing players (I think Schaefer wins the Calder, no way they give it to a Hab two years in a row). Again, this gives the Habs a legit threat on the second line, and takes pressure off the first line. The Habs gave him a chance and he's running with it. (thanks Kent...and Marty)
Juraj Slafkosvký
He's proving why he was selected first overall this year. He currently has 72 points and his play in the offensive zone has been dominant of late. Not many players are better than him on the boards and he seems to have found his scoring touch with 30 goals so far. This guy is a force and I can't wait to see how he elevates his game for the playoffs. Also, his cap hit is at 7.6 for the next four seasons (thanks Kent)
Going forward, gone are the days where we don't have a player in the top 30 in points as the Canadiens have morphed into an offensive threat on every shift. Thanks Kent.