3 Montreal Canadiens players who may not be back next season originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Montreal Canadiens are continuing to head in the right direction and are now among the top teams in the Eastern Conference. It makes sense, as they have a fantastic core featuring Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Noah Dobson, and Ivan Demidov. With this, the future is looking bright in Montreal.
They pulled off a huge victory on the road against an experienced Tampa Bay Lightning team in Game 7 last night and are now preparing for a second-round duel against the Buffalo Sabres.
However, as the Canadiens’ roster continues to get stronger, they could move on from some players this off-season to add or promote more skilled players, with the hopes of improving their roster.
Due to this, let’s take a look at three specific Habs who might not be back next season.
Patrik Laine, RW
Patrik Laine likely will not be back with the Canadiens next season. The Canadiens looked to trade him leading up to the deadline, and his contract expires at the end of this campaign.
Thus, the Canadiens should be letting him walk straight into free agency. He simply does not fit on their roster anymore.
Laine has also not played for the Canadiens since October due to injury. In five games this season with Montreal before getting injured, he had zero goals, one assist, and a minus-3 rating. This is after he had 20 goals and 33 points in 52 games for Montreal in 2024-25.
MORE: Canadiens’ Patrik Laine could still help Montreal in playoffs
Samuel Montembeault, G
With the Canadiens having two promising young goaltenders in Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes, it would not be surprising in the slightest if they moved on from Montembeault, who is the oldest of the three, this off-season.
This is especially true given that Montembeault has had a very disappointing 2025-26 season and has been demoted to the third string in the playoffs while Dobes starts and Fowler backs him up.
Montembeault has a $3.15 million cap hit until the end of next season. With this, the Canadiens would need to either trade him or buy him out to move on from him. While Montembeault has had a bad 2025-26 season, his past success could make him a bounce-back candidate to watch next season. This could lead other teams to call.
MORE: Canadiens have 3 right-shot defense targets this off-season
Arber Xhekaj, D
The Canadiens’ blueline is getting crowded, prompting questions about Arber Xhekaj’s future in Montreal. Xhekaj has been scratched multiple times this season, including the pivotal Game 7 against the Lightning last night, and could end up being a decent trade chip for the Canadiens to dangle to improve their roster elsewhere.
If the Canadiens make Xhekaj available, there is no question that he would generate interest. The 25-year-old is a big defenseman who plays a very heavy game, and teams are always on the hunt for those.
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