Splitting their two split-squad games against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens have reached the end of their preseason calendar. As a team that entered the preseason without many lineup spots up for grabs, it was never likely to be a franchise-altering exercise, but there were some question marks that may have been resolved through their five games.
The first question is what they’re going to do with Kirby Dach, because it doesn’t look like there is a spot for him on this team.
He was soundly outplayed in the preseason by several AHL players looking to make a case for NHL time, most notably Florian Xhekaj. Even if the Habs weren’t truly planning to bring along an AHL body to start the regular season, they have enough NHL bodies to do without Dach. He’ll probably be in the press box for Tuesday’s season opener, and there are whispers that Kent Hughes may be working on a deal that involves him. If this preseason was an audition for him to earn a permanent spot in the lineup, it feels like he’s played himself right out of town instead.
Elsewhere on the ice, Samuel Montembeault has made perhaps the most compelling and surprising case to remain with the club.
Snacks comeback in the year of our lord 2026? pic.twitter.com/8TldxxMkzG
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) September 27, 2026
The ship has sailed on the starting job, Jakub Dobeš made sure of that with his play last season, but the backup role was at least a possible question mark heading into camp. Jacob Fowler’s career progression could benefit from the activity that comes with leading the Laval Rocket, and if Montembeault turned in a strong preseason, he could be in line for the NHL relief duties to start the year.
There’s no denying that he did everything in his power. He was excellent in each of his outings, and particularly so for Saturday night’s finale against Ottawa. We know his limitations quite well by now, and he’d likely have a short leash with the big club, but if this is a sign of him turning a corner with his game, he could be a very capable option for them. No announcement has been made yet, but the rumours of his demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
And the final question pertains to two spots with the defensive corps that will play in front of whoever is in nets. Kaiden Guhle has been skating lately, and may return sooner than initially expected, but until he does there are two spots that need to be filled. Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble have the most experience, but they also had the roughest preseasons of the players vying for them. David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom were more impressive in their minutes, but both are waiver-exempt. Martin St-Louis has to decide how he wants to proceed here.
For my money, Reinbacher has earned a shot to start the year. Give him one spot, let Xhekaj take the other, return Engstrom to Laval for the time being, and let Struble watch the first few games from up high. We’ll get to see if Reinbacher can keep his level of play against NHL regulars, with insurance there in case it doesn’t go as planned.
Everyone had better put their best foot forward, because Engstrom is right there, and Luke Mittlestadt showed that he’s on a mission to enter the conversation himself. A long-term spot on that blue line is what they’ll all be playing for throughout the season, wherever they may be playing.
Click the play button below to listen to your full Bottom Six Minutes, also available wherever you get your podcasts. We’ll be back on Tuesday night, when the Habs will kick off the regular season against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
