Habs 2025-26 Preseason Observations

The 2025-2026 preseason for the Habs was arguably much better than last year’s. Although wins and losses are not that significant, finishing 4-2 is much better than the 2-4 record of last year. Coach Martin St-Louis made it quite clear early in the camp that a sense of urgency, stacking up the days, and the ‘now’ needed to be the main focus in this camp.

The early intrasquad games were visibly more intense, and so were most of the preseason games. Besides the first game vs the Leafs in Montreal where a roster loaded with veterans was completely outworked by essentially the Toronto Marlies, we have seen intensity, grit, an improved defensive zone structure, and a pack mentality that bodes well for the upcoming season.

For the first time since the beginning of the rebuild, only a few spots were open for the Habs’ prospects and players signed during the summer. Unless a prospect’s play was exceptional enough to force the coaching staff to go back to the drawing board, only two forward spots were available to replace Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak, and a third spot as the 13th forward was open to replace Michael Pezzetta. As expected, none of them forced their hand, but there were a few surprises and disappointments from some prospects.

Admittedly, Joshua Roy was among the biggest disappointments.  After reports that he had had a strong summer of training and working out with the likes of Kris Letang and others, gaining a fair amount of muscle mass, and knowing that this was a critical year for his career, Roy was unable to show off any progress. He had shown some exciting potential two years ago when he was among the top AHL scorers and did really well when called up; his spot on the roster was almost given to him this time last year. He basically forced the coaching staff to send him down to Laval. A stint in Montreal during the season didn’t turn any heads either. His runway was short this year, but he was put in favourable positions to change this, including some power play time. Being on the first cut list this spring was a sign that a change of scenery may be his best option in the short term.

Fortunately, there were many more surprises than disappointments. With the departure of Logan Mailloux and the injury to David Reinbacher, Adam Engstrom has clearly taken the eighth defensive spot on the team. He was eventually sent back to Laval, not because he isn’t NHL-ready, but only because of the Habs’ strong defensive core. Engstrom would probably make the roster for many NHL teams.

Florian Xhekaj was arguably the biggest surprise this preseason. As an overage fourth-rounder (101st overall) in 2023, he finished his last year in the OHL producing 65 points, 40 points more than his previous season. By all accounts, the younger Xhekaj was the most improved player in Laval last year. Starting as a fourth liner most of the season and with only minimal power play time, Florian was able to put up 35 points (sixth on the team), including 24 goals (second on Laval), and a +10 differential. His 175 penalty minutes clearly showed his family roots as well. His 2025 preseason was outstanding. For his development, Florian can’t be considered as a 13th forward. He would have needed to crack the lineup on a regular basis to make the NHL roster. Considering he does not need to go through waivers, he also needed to be well above the older players he is competing with. Another year as a dominant and a key player on the Laval roster working on his foot speed and defensive play, and he will undoubtedly become an important role player in Montreal next year. Who knows, injuries during the upcoming season, or poor play from a bottom-six regular may give Florian a call-up opportunity and he may end up never going back down. At the very least, both Florian Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom have left their business card on St-Louis’ desk and they should both be proud of what they have accomplished.

As far as team play is concerned, St-Louis has mentioned early on that having the same core group made it easier for him to establish his defensive zone structure. The base was already ingrained and he could fine-tune and refine it early in the season in the hope of improving the team’s “chances of success” as he likes to say. During a post-practice interview, Alexandre Carrier was asked if anything has changed in the defensive zone system this year. He replied that there have been some tweaks in their defensive play but it was mostly in the neutral zone in order to reduce chances off the rush. This was also mentioned before the last game vs Ottawa when St-Louis was asked what kind of ‘normal plays’ he is looking for in his players. Among a few examples, he stated “how you deal with the rush as the first forward back.” I thought that was very interesting. Watching their second game vs Toronto and both games vs Ottawa, I did notice a change in their neutral zone play and I’m wondering if this is what Carrier and St-Louis were talking about.

What I observed was that they implemented a much tighter squeeze in the neutral zone. When the Habs are unable to keep the puck in the offensive zone with their fore check and a breakout is accomplished by the opponent, the F3 is much faster at closing off the gap and putting back pressure on the puck carrier. When the defenceman on that side (D1) notices a tight gap behind the carrier, he will add forward pressure on him and close off the blue line, causing either a turnover or forcing a dump and chase.

Both F2 and D2 are important here and need to read the play. The F2 must make an effort to close off the pass option to the centre and the D2 must ensure to react quickly to the dump if that is the chosen play by the opponent. The Habs have a lot of speed both up front and at the blue line. This play fits perfectly with the team’s attributes. Three games is a very small sample size so I may be wrong but I will surely be watching for this early in the season.

It is paramount for the team to have a good start. During the 2023-2024 season, the team had 16 points after 15 games. A respectable start for that roster. Last year, the team had 10 points after 15 games. These additional six points would put them tied with Ottawa at the end of the season, and enough to make the playoffs most years.