The 2024-25 season saw a dramatic jump forward due to the reconstruction of Montreal Canadiens. They started slowly, but ended the regular season strong and deserved the last Wildcard berth in the Play-Offs. Although they lost in the first round to the Washington Capitals, the Canadiens showed that they can and will compete for a play -off position.
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General Manager (GM) knows Hughes, however, would be the first to admit that his rebuilding is not almost complete. Significant must be filled in before they can be considered a completed work. The 2025-26 season keeps some promise of a new step forward, but they will have to find more goals, especially on the Power Play (PP).
Canadiens can learn from the 2024-25 pp
Montreal ended 17one In the NHL in goals in front, score 243 times, which translates into a 2.96 goals for average per game (GF/GP). The 20.1% Power-Play (PP) percentage of the Canadiens is in 21st place in the NHL. After the 4 nations have against the head, the Canadiens, led by team captain Nick Suzuki, could, however, increase the score to 3.15 GF/GP. She placed this 15one In the NHL about that time span. They did this despite the fact that their PP fell to 18.1% during the 26 games played in that period.
What this shows is that the big leap for Montreal last season, which led them to be placed in the competition after the 4 nations in the competition, their defensive match goals against dramatically lowered. It is no secret that the efficiency of special teams in every season has a huge impact on success. To improve the club immediately and to have a repeated appearance in the play-offs in 2025-26, they need their PP to produce a much higher pace.
Canadiens change their size
The format that the Canadiens are currently using is a 1-3-1 setup with one down the goal line (or net front), one forward on each of the half walls, one forward in the bumper position (high lock) and one defender at the blue line. The upper unit (laid out in the 1-3-1) consisted of Juraj Slafkovsky-Patrik Laine, Suzuki, Cole Caufield-Lane Hutson. This was the unit that scored the most as a group. Caufield scored 10 pp goals, but Laine was a PP target, with 75% of his 20 goals on the PP, giving him the team leader with 15.
The second unit was not that productive, but did show some flashes of skills. They also used the 1-3-1 and were led by players such as Brendan Gallagher, Emil Heineman (Traded on the New York Islanders) and Mike Matheson.
To be successful during the Power Play, the Canadiens must again evaluate how they attack it.
Canadiens -personnel changes
One way to find that success is to change the staff. The additions of elite skills players such as Ivan Demidov and Noah Dobson, as well as an emerging force in Zachary Bolduc, are essentially forcing head coach Martin St. Louis to adapt. The best of all is that it also offers internal competition for these coveted roles.
Another way is to adjust the size. St. Louis could return to the old method to use three attackers and two defenders. This means that he could benefit from the creative puck-moving skills of Hutson, the Calder Trophy winner for Top Rookie in 2024-25 and the newly added Dobson to anchor their top unit. Moreover, they were able to hybridize, so that the second pp unit can stay the 1-3-1 and Matheson to use that unit. With the influx of new, offensive capable prospects, the unit could become a different weapon for the coaching staff.
As for the attackers, Suzuki is a lock like the middle of this upper unit. Difficult choices must be made from here. If the three attackers, two defenders (3-2) format are the choice, the selected staff are chosen to play specific roles. Slafkovsky is currently the net presence in the 1-3-1, but in the 3-2 the role includes a shooter in the bumperspot, and this role includes the attacks of the net front, so while Caufield is an excellent shooter, it is important here. Slafkovsky stands for a fight in the training camp, because Bolduc could be placed comfortably here, because this was his role at St. Louis Blues last season, where he scored seven PP goals.
The position of the shooter on the left is ideal for a right shot and Caufield has been in this role for the most part of his NHL career. However, it will be a challenge to justify the removal of Laine from the top unit, because his 20 goals (15 pp goals) have helped Montreal in a play -off place. If he had maintained that pace over a season of 82 game, the team would have given another 30 goals. With a completely low season to recover and train after his knee injury last season, it is expected that he can produce goals at that pace. This may mean that Caufield, the top scorer of the team, can be moved to the second unit.
The Power Play of Canadiens looks dangerous
The second unit would now have Caufield, Slafkovsky, Demidov and Matheson. This leaves a central role open and a healthy Kirby Dach fits in there. This season is an important for the often injured 24-year-old center. A full season in which he can also produce an attack would give him an NHL contract, even if it is not in Montreal. Used on the PP, with top-line skills players as noted above, would put him in his best position to succeed he once had in his career. Even if the five-five output remains unchanged compared to the face-off break after the 4 countries, as long as the PP output of the team can be increased. In 2024-25, Montreal 234 pp -opportunitiesScore 47 Total PP goals. If everything else remained the same, even a modest increase of 2% would give them five more goals. That could lead to two, perhaps three more victories, that are six points in the rankings, which could have put them on the same basis with the Ottawa Senators or possibly even in third place in the Atlantic Ocean.
The PP is a living, breathable thing. Players are moved in and out of the first and second unit based on performance, injuries and team needs. Regardless of what format is used, the transactions of Hughes have given St. Louis an inflow of attacking skills that make the team -playing output of the team, especially on the power play, possible to make an important leap forward.
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