Despite the Montreal Canadiens losing last night to the Edmonton Oilers, they sit at the top of the Atlantic Division standings after their 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. It has been a remarkable start to the season as the Canadiens have a record of 6-3.
Atlantic Division Standings – Oct. 23rd pic.twitter.com/6Wu9DYRX2G
— NHL Rumors (@NHLrumorsX) October 23, 2025
The Canadiens are once again taking advantage of teams getting off to poor starts. Though last year, Montreal didn’t get off to the best start. However, they clawed their way back up the standings and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as teams in front of them fell.
Is the Rebuild Finally Over for the Montreal Canadiens?
So the Montreal Canadiens were a year ahead of schedule in making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, this year is supposed to be the year this young team gets to the playoffs. Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson, and Cole Caufield are a year older and wiser. The new extensions for Kaiden Guhle and Juraj Slafkovsky are kicking in. Ivan Demidov will play a full season, along with the additions of Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc.
So the Canadiens are on a path to prove that their rebuild is over by making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. What Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton and General Manager Kent Hughes have done is nothing short of remarkable. The fan base, not known for accepting losing, accepted the vision these men laid out, and the fruits of their labor are being rewarded.
There is a reason why fans, not just of the Montreal Canadiens, but fans of other teams, love watching them play. It might be a little unsettling at times for head coach Martin St. Louis, but he is getting the players to buy into the style he wants his team to be. This is partly why, as Frankie Corrado told Jay Onrait on SportsCenter, the team is seeing the success it is seeing early into this short season.
NHL Rumors: All Options on the Table for Mike Matheson and the Montreal Canadiens
Frankie Corrado: “Jay, I’m going to give you the number one reason, and then I’ll give you a bonus reason. That’s pretty obvious, but let’s go with the number one reason. Watching the Montreal Canadiens this year, they have been able to skate teams into the ground so much so that they’re getting odd man rushes, left, right and center. Like they have it on all four lines, where they have guys that can stretch the play out and guys that make the other team have to chase the game, and that’s been an issue for the opposition.
And for Montreal, they’re not the biggest team. They’re not going to run you out of the building, but they will try and skate you into the ground. And they’ve had a lot of success forcing teams to have to chase them around the ice.
Here’s my bonus reason for you, Jay, is that, yeah, they’re fast, but they have more skill than they’ve had in a long time. And all of a sudden, now quietly, Ivan Demidov is up to five points in seven games, and Zachary Bolduc, two new players on this team, Bolduc is up to four goals.
NHL Rumors: The Best Option for the Montreal Canadiens is to Keep Mike Matheson
So they’re a fast team. They will skate you into the ground. It can feel like you’re chasing the game a lot when you’re playing Montreal, and they’re able to do that because they have more skill than they’ve had in the last few seasons.”
The Montreal Canadiens are primed and ready to make a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. While they will not forget what got them here – drafting and developing. Gorton and Hughes now have the tools in the toolbox to make a splash as they look to upgrade and improve their team at or even before the NHL Trade Deadline.
This Canadiens team will be a difficult out with the speed and skill. It will be hard to keep up with them, that’s for sure.
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