HabsWorld.net --
With no activity on the trade or waiver front on Monday, the Habs have finalized their season-opening roster for the 2026-27 season, consisting of 23 active players plus one more on injured reserve.
The roster is as follows:
Goalies (2): Jakub Dobes, Samuel Montembeault
Defence (7): Alexandre Carrier, Noah Dobson, Adam Engstrom, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj
Forwards (14): Josh Anderson, Zach Bolduc, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Phillip Danault, Ivan Demidov, Jake Evans, Oliver Kapanen, Chris Kreider, Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Alexandre Texier, Florian Xhekaj
Injured Reserve (1): Kaiden Guhle
Injured, Non-Roster (2): Lucas Condotta, Bryce Pickford (these players will be sent to Laval once medically cleared to play
Guhle is still skating and is believed to be two or three weeks away from returning to the lineup. With Engstrom being waiver-exempt for one more year, it’s likely that he is effectively the placeholder on the roster until Guhle returns. Practice lines on Monday have him as the seventh defenceman heading into Tuesday’s game in Toronto.
Up front, it’s a little surprising that Montreal is rostering 14 forwards, given that the team in recent years has been hesitant at times to carry a full 23-man roster. But Xhekaj had a strong enough camp to force their hand. However, should he falter early on or not play much, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him back in Laval to get more playing time and to open up some cap space.
Speaking of cap space, the Habs will enter the season with just under $1.9 million in cap room, per PuckPedia. For perspective, if the roster remained unchanged throughout the year (which obviously won’t happen), that would enable them to add around $8.5 million in full-season payroll at the trade deadline. Ideally, they’ll be able to add to that amount when Guhle returns and if they open up a forward slot, either by sending Xhekaj down (he’s also waiver-exempt) or by trading someone. That would then buy more flexibility toward the deadline or more space to apply performance bonuses against.
The team also noted on Monday that Kapanen is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He didn’t take part in practice, with Newhook moving down the middle on the second line between Slafkovsky and Demidov.
