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The Montreal Canadiens are in a bit of a roster flux with the first line and goalie situations but all signs point to a solution happening imminently. Josh Gosse and Jesse Poirier chat about all of it on this episode of Habs Digest.
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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7013256/2026/02/01/canadiens-big-win-sabres/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7011189/2026/01/31/nhl-trade-deadline-2026-team-needs/
0:00 Montreal Canadiens News
0:50 This is a necessity
4:38 It’s obvious now for Dobes
7:49 All signs point to this
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The solution to the first line is CLEAR after this…
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Arber Xhekaj,Zach Bolduc,Alex Newhook,Jake Evans,Brendan Gallagher,Mike Matheson,David Reinbacher,Juraj Slafkovsky,Josh Anderson,Cole Caufield,Nick Suzuki,Kirby Dach,Alex CarrierKent Hughes,Martin St Louis,Sam Montembeault,Kaiden Guhle,Owen Beck,Filip Mesar,Jayden Struble,Adam Engstrom,Sean Farrell,Lane Hutson,Ivan Demidov,Patrik Laine,Jakub Dobes
48 Comments
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A 2C would be nice but Kappy is doing a good job while the right deal comes along. Habs are top 5 in league scoring. It's the D they need to tighten up on. Let's let the process move along because younger guys are on the way and also need a spot to vie for.
Let it ride. Evaluate Dach and a few others for the rest of the year and DO NOT trade either Hage, Fowler, Zharovsky or Pickford.
Y
Hugues can afford to wait a year… i think he needs to react and take advantage of the game in front of him instead of being the one going out aggressively
I would still go out and get a Vet goalie
I been screaming for a 2c for a long time. Currently Kapanen is doing ok there and Hage is coming soon. The bigger need may be at top line RW. I would not be surprised if we end up not making a significant move if Dach continues to improve and stay healthy. If we can make the upgrade on the top line without giving up our top youngsters and it costs Dach a 1st rounder and B prospects and or another pick then im for it but Zharovsky Hage and Fowler are untouchable.
josh losing it at caufield the finisher hahahah
The Habs need a two way gritty Fwd. Someone like Ryan O’Reilly. Kadri might also be a solid player to consider.
Package Evans
We have a 2 C we need a better 4th line with depth scoring
We win with Dobes!
He makes the timely saves and he battles.
We still need a bottom pairing defenceman who can clear the front of the net and that MSL can trust. In second place we need a winger for the Suzuki – Caufield line, but I am willing to give Dach some more time. (I doubt he will stay healthy and Texier is clearly can not play with the top line.)
Kapanen is a good 2C and will continue to improve. If we believe in Hage we will have 3 excellent centremen in a couple of years.
We have to keep Gallagher with the team but it would be great to have a strong big winger on that line.
We seem to forget that Newhook is coming back.
We already have a high compete/penalty killing forward coming back in Newhook. Maybe give Hage some looks at end of season with Suzuki/Caufield but no need to rush/force anything at the moment.
I have been joking about Kirby Dach being a good candidate if they even want to remake the movie ''Mr Glass'' but one thing I can't away from him is that he's never been afraid to put himself in harmful situation to help this team. That shows an amazing dedication to his team.
Let Dobes play the last two games before the break
I know we think about a 2C or top6 winger but i just want Parayko tbh
We need a 1st line winger to play with Caufield and Suzuki
Kirby Dach can play on the first line he is very talented and a big strong guy we just have to be patient he has been out for along time but he has gotten better every game
They need a RHD. I love Carrier but he's overused and if he or Dobson goes down we're completely screwed.
Yes yes yes…….. Keep him playing till a loss, if it ain't broke don't fix it 💙🤍❤️ GO HABS GO !!
Play dobes 😊
y
y
Yes Kirby 😊
NewHook is a great PK forward, I donate think we need to be shopping for one. Kappanen will probably end up a great 3rd line center an Michael Hage is a great hope at 2c. Patience and lets not rush short term solutions
A big physical forward who can score.
Bring florian up😮
Trade sam monty bones, laine and dach and a 1st for tage Thompson or player like him and a shut down D man. Or bring up engstrom. Theu could use a real goalie too, but dobe anc fowler is fine
They need to trade a few of the lemons
Imho, what we need is a #3 defensemen that his both physical and fast but we already have that in Adam Engstrom if he choses that path. It's such a complicated and deep topic, but our team right now does not NEED anything. The only thing that can improve us at this point are major #1 players like a Sydney Crosby or a #1 defensemen in a major trade that would likely deplete us of future assets, in this point of view, I do not think we need anything. We're to even talking about Newhook's return yet… I loved what I saw from Newhook from the few he played.
y
I think a solid experienced stay at home shot blocking, rib cage grinding RD would be a great need as the team rides down the stretch. Dobson is more of an offensive minded RD and the only real defensive minded Defender we have is Guhle at the moment who can support also on the penalty kill. Matheson, Hutson and Carrier are more offensive minded defenders in my opinion. Arber is prone to be out of position often & so is Struble. I think the bottom pairing defensively is not efficient at the moment. We are using our best defenders incredibly which may wear them down the stretch.
Yes! Dobes all the way ! He has the hot hand !
Keep playing Dach with Suzy and Cole! Dach has tremendous potential and he is getting his confidence back !
Let’s go !!!
I'd feel better with a good backup for Dobes, I have little to no faith in Montemblowas he's capable but so damned inconsistent!
Do you know Hudson has the same point totals as Makar
The biggest need is having patience, and being prepared to compete for the cup when Fowler takes the reins. Maybe a new goalie coach turns Dobbie into a wall, we'll see, but if he is indeed a number 1, then I won't be surprised to see him moved him for a proven backup, and whatever else you can get at some point next season.
They moved Hackett, to leave no doubts about Price being the #1, and prevent the usual media driven garbage about a goalie controversy. I have enough faith and trust in Fowler to believe he can be the difference maker. Roy didn't have to be the hero in 86, like he did in 93, all he had to be was consistently good, because the Habs had a great team, much like they do now. If PD, can maintain his current level if effectiveness for another sesson or two, good goaltending makes this team a playoff lock, great goaltending makes them a contender.
I see a need for a defensive D-man. The current d corps is making too many mistakes which lead to costly giveaways. The other need is for a big RW (Tom Wilson type) for the top line with Suzuki and Caufield. The other issue is not a player, but rather the defence coach may need to follow the goalie coach to the Employment office. Potential trade bait to obtain the desired players include Dach, Newhook, Laine and perhaps a defensive prospect (Reinbacher). Untouchable prospects are Hage and Volokhin
I'm so thankful that fans aren't making decisions about personnel. Patience, folks. In HuGo, I trust. I think a big physical winger is the Habs' biggest need, but I'll wait and see what management decides to do. I know this is a radical thought, but those guys actually know a lot more about hockey than 99.9% of us who are fans.
Another Gainey would be nice.
we need jason robertson with caufield and suzuki
No trading main skaters.
Trade one of their goalies instead, along with a couple of significant picks, for a terrific goalie.
Easier said than done… but what the Habs need is an experienced goaltender between the pipes.
Dach has been great – exactly what the 1st line needed, size and puck retrieval. Dare I say Slaf-like?
I like the new D pairings – Carrier and Arber are less exposed and the top 4 eat up a lot of minutes. Not ideal, but working.
A goalie " stealing the net" is always the best goalie transition. Monty will always be a beloved son. Value to pushing teams? Fowler competing with Jacob? No team in the league could want more moving forward through this decade. Net is set!!!
If we need to do anything at all (and maybe we don't – I like what people are saying about patience) it would be to bring in a solid reliable veteran goalie to take some of the pressure off Dobes. Either that or a physical defensive d-man to replace Carrier…Hutson is a fixture now, but we can't move forward with both him AND Carrier.
Brendan Ghallager at 22 years old
Really like a top 6 of Caufield-Suzuki-Dach and Slafkovsky-Kapanen-Demidov; this could allow Newhook to shine on the third line, where I always thought he should be.
The Habs biggest need is to trade Gallagher for 2015 Gallagher. Joke’s aside, there aren’t enough roster spots. They need to move 2 guys out if they bring someone in.