The Montreal Canadiens’ 2025-26 opening evening roster is officially set. Yesterday, the group introduced the 23 gamers they’ll begin the season with.
Associated: Toronto Maple Leafs Announce 2025-26 Opening Night time Roster
After a number of offseason strikes, together with the addition of defenseman Noah Dobson, the Canadiens are getting into this 12 months with larger expectations. They’re not simply hoping to make the playoffs—they wish to go on a run. Each the teaching employees and administration consider this group can assist them get there.
Canadiens 2025-26 Opening Night time Roster
Forwards (13): Josh Anderson, Zachary Bolduc, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Ivan Demidov, Jake Evans, Brendan Gallagher, Oliver Kapanen, Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovský, Nick Suzuki, Joe Veleno
Defensemen (7): Alexandre Provider, Noah Dobson, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj
Goaltenders (2): Jakub Dobeš, Samuel Montembeault
Injured and/or Non-Roster: Gannon Laroque, David Reinbacher, William Trudeau
Montreal finalized this roster forward of their opener towards their long-time rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. They’ll enter Sport 1 with $5.5 million in cap house, giving them some flexibility to make additions later within the season.
A couple of notable strikes have been made earlier than the ultimate roster was set. Fan favorite Florian Xhekaj was assigned to the American Hockey League (AHL) after a formidable preseason the place he went toe-to-toe with Nic Deslauriers of the Philadelphia Flyers. One other stunning transfer concerned goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, who signed a $1.1 million deal in the summertime however will start the 12 months within the AHL.
The Canadiens have loads of high-end prospects who’re near breaking by means of, they usually’ll get their likelihood quickly sufficient. For now, these gamers will look to make an affect within the AHL whereas the NHL squad focuses on incomes a playoff spot.
All of it will get underway tomorrow evening towards the Maple Leafs at 7:00 p.m. EST.
