Habs Daily: Kadri Trade Rumour, Youngest NHL Lineup, Prospects
Canadiens Rebuild Leads To Youngest Team In The NHL
Latest Canadiens Trade Rumour – Kadri Willing To Lift NMC
Habs Wrap: Bolduc Trade, Dobson Trade, Prospect Highlights
Habs Fan Vote – Ranking Top 10 Montreal Canadiens Prospects
Habs Fan Vote – Ranking Top 10 Montreal Canadiens Prospects
Canadiens Prospect Takes Advantage Of NCAA Rule Change
Habs Prospect – Mooney Impressive Youth Hockey Highlights
Highlights – Mooney & New Habs Prospects Standout At Camp
Canadiens Draft Focused On Turning Quantity Into Quality
Habs Daily: Kadri Trade Rumour, Youngest NHL Lineup, Prospects
Habs Daily: Top 10 Canadiens Prospects, Sedgwick Award
Habs Daily: Bolduc’s Excitement, Goal Prediction, NHL Draft
Habs Daily: Salary Cap Projection, LJ Mooney, Dobson
Habs Daily: Dvorak & Armia Find New Homes, Mooney Highlights
Published
on
By
It’s no secret the Montreal Canadiens have focused on adding talented skaters to the lineup throughout the rebuild, leading to an exodus of older players and an influx of young players.
All things considered, it’s rather difficult to criticize the approach, and that goes beyond roster construction. Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have maintained transparency with the fans, which, in turn, has led to a very high level of trust from a fanbase that was once deemed too impatient to undergo a rebuild.
There have been a few issues, including some trades that did not bear fruit, but overall, the team has doused the fires of impatience with a heavy dose of smart decisions.
Not only are the Canadiens a very young team, they’re actually the youngest team in the NHL, and the only club with an average age below 26 years old.
Average ages according to NHL media site rosters :
1. Montreal – 25.75
2. Buffalo – 26.51
3. Chicago – 26.62
4. Ottawa – 26.88
5. Philadelphia – 27.32
6. Calgary – 27.63
7. Anaheim – 27.71
8. Columbus – 27.75
9. Boston – 27.87
10. NY Rangers – 27.91
11. New Jersey – 28.00
12.…
— NHL Rosters (@NHL_Rosters) July 11, 2025
The numbers will change between now and the start of the season, but suffice it to say the Habs are in an enviable position compared to other organizations that underwent rebuilds.
But are they too young?
There is value in having veterans in the lineup, particularly in the playoffs when young players start to feel the pressure.
But as my uncle always reminded everyone that didn’t want to listen to him once he was four Labatt 50s deep at Christmastime, if a player is only good for the locker room, he should stay in the locker room. In other words, experience should not trump talent. Besides, there are always veterans available on the trade market, should the Habs decide they want to add a veteran presence to the roster.
It’s also worth pointing out the Canadiens’ current lineup aligns nicely with statistical primes. Players usually start hitting their primes around 23 years old, and not 30 years old as we once assumed.
And if we take a look back to 1993, the last year a Canadian team managed to win the Stanley Cup, it’s fairly evident the Canadiens ran with a very young lineup in the playoffs. Rob Ramage hardly played, making Guy Carbonneau the elder statesmen of the Cup-winning team at 32 years old. The oldest regularly used defenceman was J.J. Daigneault, who was 27. Everyone else on the blue line was 25 or younger.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the Canadiens are set to win the Stanley Cup any time soon. I’d even go as far as saying there’s a relatively decent chance they may miss the playoffs next season.
But it does speak to the excellent work done by management to put together a group that can grow together within the same age range, which, in turn, should lead to more playoff experience, and hopefully, a legitimate Stanley Cup-contending lineup in the future.
Habs Daily: Kadri Trade Rumour, Youngest NHL Lineup, Prospects
Latest Canadiens Trade Rumour – Kadri Willing To Lift NMC
This rebuild is moving along really nicely.!! Championship teams take time to gel and Montreal is no exception.!!! That 2C position is key ..to the next step ….otherwise players will be forced to take on roles that they are not ready for …and can lead to mis-steps !! Stay with the plan …be patient ..and success will come !!
The Canadiens are the youngest team but they have the second biggest payroll.
Price is eating up 10m of it.. laine 8m. Anderson 5m and gallagher 6m. Almost 25m will be wipers out in next 2 years..18, by the end of this one..
Not too worried..
Once they put Price on LTIR, if they don’t trade the contract, they’ll be fine and drop down the list significantly
If we wind the clock back a full year, there was optimism galore. We were getting Dach back, Newhook was poised to breakout, Slafkovsky has just surpassed 50 points, Lane Hutson tantalized in his 2 game preview, the crease looked less chaotic and Hughes swung a blockbuster bringing in Laine. There were other youngsters vying for playing time on the big squad, and the boys were talking playoffs.
What an interesting year it was. Didn’t play out according to the script with Dach and Newhook missing expectations, Laine was a boom and a bust , Slafkovsky never really took it up a notch, the kids from the farm had minimal impact but whoa, Hutson was sensational. The working class guys contributed a bit more than forecasted and Hughes brought in Carrier which helped. The crease was Monty’s but there was drama behind him and then there was that magical run in December and January where we beat all the best teams in their rinks including tge last 4 cup winners which lead to the playoffs. Not a fluke, we beat the best teams and when we could have folded, we didn’t. It was a major accomplishment and then we played the top team in the conference, second in the league and we lost but they already accomplished what they set out to do.
Then we add Demidov late last season and he is going to be this years Calder winner (or a finalist at least) and Bolduc and Dobson and we’re supposed to be worse? Savard retired but despite the heart and passion and leadership, the tank was empty and he’s replaced with a potential Norris contender. Yes we are young but Nick is a great captain and not a kid. Caufield Gallagher and Anderson all provide stability from back in the 2020-21 playoff run and leadership as does the veteran Mike Matheson. Xhekaj is huge in the room, welcomes everyone new. Young but not inexperienced. Monty was on 4 Nations roster and played for Team Canada previously, so our leadership is significant. This year we will bring in some kids from the farm who will play hard and contribute. It’s not like Dvorak and Armia weren’t good players, they are but not irreplaceable. It’s hockey, nothing is assured but when I consider the past year and how we have a better more talented roster than a year ago, plus the experience of making the playoffs, I think we are a playoff team. Of the teams that missed the playoffs, none of them have roster upgrades like us, and some have regressed so who is going to replace us? If anything, I see us moving up a few spots, not down. Time will tell but I do expect more from Newhook, Laine, Dach(once he gets rolling) Slavovsky and Xhekaj than last season. Time to give the team credit and believe in them the way they believe in themselves. Go Habs!!
Enter your email address and get all of our articles sent directly to your inbox
Copyright © 2023 National Hockey Now. Montreal Hockey Now is part of the National Hockey Now network and is in no way endorsed by the Montreal Canadiens or National Hockey League.
Hockey News