Two weeks ago we thought the Canadiens were doing well.
The club was relatively healthy (Patrik Laine had a rough start to the season and Kaiden Guhle was out with a long-term injury) and the league table was doing well.
It exceeded all expectations.
But the situation is changing. The Canadiens are slipping a bit after four losses in their last five games.
Nothing catastrophic , of course, but still the gap is smaller than it was at the beginning of the month. This becomes more natural for a club on the cusp of recovery.
But over the past 24 hours, the bad news has been piling up. Alex Newhook will miss four months of activityand Kayden Goulet will also be out a good two months (at least) longer than expected.
In both cases, it hurts because these are players who can make a big impact on the ice.
Of course, if the Canadiens want to stay in the game, they will have to find a way to replace the excellent work of Goulet and Newhook in the long term.
Just yesterday we thought Goulet would be back soon… and Newhook was healthy. The situation has changed radically in the last 24 hours.
Result? Given the standings and the health of the guys, it is clear that Kent Hughes has less leverage in negotiations with his 31 colleagues in the NHL.
It can't be any other way.
Keep in mind, no one is saying that Kent Hughes is desperate to get a bad deal. But what we're talking about is that executives in other parts of the league are more likely to wait for him with a brick and lantern.
Perhaps the time to overpay for a deal will come sooner or later…
If I'm following a team with a center or right guard (whether it's a veteran like Calgary's Nazem Kadri or even a young guy like Buffalo's Tage Thompson), I expect a call from 514.
Whether this will happen in the near future remains to be seen.
extension
Pending a potential deal from the Habs general manager, the club will have to turn to some reinforcements for what happens next.
We know that Jared Davidson has already been recalled. as the club's 12th striker. But what if he didn't?
How comfortable are the Canadiens with players like Joshua Roy, Owen Beck, Florian Czekai, Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher in this world in the event of further injuries? Because yes, there will be others along the way.
Obviously, the Canadiens aren't going to call on Russia to release Alexander Zharovsky from his KHL contract, and they're not going to ask David Savard to come out of retirement… but if they do, (quite a bit) everything will be on the table.
David Savard will not be forgotten
Savi will not be forgotten
#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/0joaQ0OIAC– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) November 1, 2025
We've never seen Kent Hughes in this situation because he's sold more than anyone else in the past and time hasn't worked against him as much. What will the grandmaster pull out of his back pocket?
And how quickly will he want to move?
I wonder how many rival teams will be willing to move before the holidays. This theory has been circulating for months, not least because of the interesting first pick in the upcoming draft.
The work of Kent Hughes, who is unlikely to move faster than the market, could help with this. Unless, of course, David Kampf is the miracle solution… #Lol
With Alex Newhook sidelined, the Habs could (really) use him → https://t.co/S7ahWtsX8L
– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) November 14, 2025
