MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens may be ahead of schedule in their rebuild, but Jeff Gorton believes the plan is far from complete.
Making the playoffs is one thing. Doing it year after year — and becoming a perennial Stanley Cup contender — is another.
“There's a lot of benefits in what players were able to do this season, but we're certainly not done,” said Gorton, the team’s executive vice president of hockey operations. “There's a lot to do here.”
Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes delivered a state of the union Monday at the Bell Centre, five days after the Washington Capitals ended a special Canadiens season with a first-round victory in five games.
Montreal made the playoffs for the first time since 2021, an unexpected appearance after the franchise began a teardown following a disastrous 2021-22 campaign.
The playoff berth exceeded Hughes and Gorton’s pre-season goal of simply being “in the mix” and electrified a hockey-crazed fan base starved of post-season action.
Now the question is how the Canadiens stay there, and how Hughes and Gorton strike a balance between injecting more youth for the future and adding veteran experience to strengthen playoff hopes.
"That's probably the million-dollar question is, how to put these pieces together?” Gorton said. “We have some players that we think are knocking on the door — what kind of opportunity are we going to provide them? Can we wait out a summer and give them training camp to earn a spot?
“We all understand that it's possible we'll be younger, but we need to balance the youth part with experience, too. So that'll be Kent's problem this summer, and I look forward to how he comes up with those answers."
Hughes, as usual, said he’s not swaying from his long-term plan of building a sustainable Cup-calibre roster.
“When you enter a rebuild, there’s always a balance between today and the future,” Hughes said. “We recognize the value of having experience, but at the same time, we don’t want to create long-term obstacles for our young players.
“We’re continuing to build toward something."
The Canadiens will have roster spots to fill next season.
Veteran defenceman David Savard is retiring. Depth forwards Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia — and seldom-used Michael Pezzetta — could become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
Hughes said the Canadiens are still discussing how they’ll approach each case. Montreal also has enough salary cap space to pursue other free agents.
Meanwhile, several prospects will arrive next September hoping to crack the NHL lineup.
Defencemen David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux — both first-round picks currently playing for Laval in the American Hockey League playoffs — could be in the mix to replace Savard. Centre Owen Beck, among others, could push for a spot lower in the lineup if Dvorak or Armia don’t return.
The Canadiens also hold a boatload of draft capital, including nine picks in the first four rounds this year.
Captain Nick Suzuki understands that Montreal’s rebuild is ongoing, but he’s eager for a return to the playoffs.
“We don't want to see this go backwards in any way,” he said Friday. “We were already the youngest team to make the playoffs, and technically we might get younger next year.
“Whatever is in the cards for Gorts and Kent this summer, I think we made it a lot harder on them to try to go out and not get younger next year."
Despite their playoff berth, the Canadiens were the last team to qualify. They entered the post-season with the fewest points (91) and the worst goal differential (-20) of all 16 teams.
Gorton identified “compete” and size as key areas in need of improvement after a physical series against the Capitals, but also said the Canadiens are trying to get better in all areas this off-season.
“We're not a finished product,” he said. “There's not one area of our team where we're saying we're done there, so we'll continue to look at everything and try to build it up.”
DACH’S FUTURE
The lack of a reliable second-line centre behind Nick Suzuki remains a glaring hole in the Canadiens' lineup. Kirby Dach was expected to grow into that role, but managed just 22 points and a minus-29 rating in 57 games before sustaining a second consecutive season-ending knee injury.
“There's certainly a place for him in our lineup. It's going to be up to him where that's going to be,” Gorton said of the 24-year-old. “He’s going to need a big camp to get himself going."
LAINE’S FIT
Questions are also swirling around Patrik Laine and his fit in Montreal next season. The 27-year-old winger caught fire after returning from injury in December, but his performance dipped down the stretch. The Canadiens’ power play also thrived when he missed the final three playoff games with a broken finger.
“We’re not in the playoffs without Patrik Laine,” Hughes said. “He gave us critical goals in critical moments. Was it always smooth sailing? No. He had struggles in his five-on-five game as well. But I was impressed by Patrik and his willingness to learn."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
