With Patrik Laine set to return after the Olympic break and the trade deadline less than two weeks after that, the Habs have a narrow window to determine the best path for their highest-paid forward.

The Habs have experimented with several wingers alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the top line so far this season. Which combination has been the best one?

The 2026 Winter Olympics are underway with NHL participation for the first time since the 2014 event and a total of four Habs are taking part. As always, we’ll keep track of their stats here.

The Habs wrapped up their pre-Olympic portion of the schedule with a pair of road games against the Central. While they couldn’t snap their extra-long losing streak in Minnesota, it was still a successful week in the standings with Montreal picking up three of four points.

At the Olympic break, the Habs are well ahead of their points pace from last season, putting them in a good spot in the standings. Some of their underlying stats, however, are a little perplexing.

The Habs capped off their pre-Olympic schedule on Wednesday night in Winnipeg. While they trailed early, they bounced back nicely with five unanswered goals and 36 saves from Samuel Montembeault to hit the break with a 5-1 victory.

The Habs have made a roster move a little before the upcoming trade freeze.  On Tuesday, they placed winger Samuel Blais on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to AHL Laval if he clears.

The Habs have struggled mightily in Minnesota in recent years. They weren’t able to snap their near-15-year losing streak on the road against the Wild but they were able to pick up a key point in the standings in a 4-3 overtime loss.

The Habs had a tough week on the schedule to close out the month of January. However, that didn’t matter as they played three strong games and came away with all three victories to move back into third place in the Atlantic Division.

After falling twice to the Sabres this month, the Habs got some revenge to end January. Cole Caufield scored twice in the third period to give Montreal the lead and they held on from there for the 4-2 win.