One of the big goals Canadiens president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes had when they started a rebuilding process four years ago was to make Montreal an attractive destination for players.
They have done that.
The Canadiens have been able to lock up the core members of the team to long-term contracts. Zachary Bolduc and goalie Jakub Dobes are signed through the 2029-30 season, along with captain Nick Suzuki. Cole Caufield, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle and Alex Newhook are signed through 2030-31. Juraj Slafkovsky and Noah Dobson are signed through 2032-33, Lane Hutson through 2033-34 and Ivan Demidov through 2034-35.
Last summer, Dobson was willing to come to Montreal in a sign-and-trade deal with the New York Islanders. This summer, Chris Kreider was willing to come to Montreal as a free agent.
Head coach Martin St. Louis speaks with former teammate and newly signed Chris Kreider during Canadiens training camp practice at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
The Canadiens have created a culture players want to be a part of and they’ve started to win. They were the youngest team to make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and advanced to the Eastern Conference final last season before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
During his more than 20 years as a player agent before becoming GM of the Canadiens, Hughes said he learned players are happy “when hockey is going well,” no matter what city they’re in.
Dobson is very happy in Montreal after signing an eight-year, US$76-million contract last summer and so is his wife, Alexa.
“I think just the culture here,” Dobson said during training camp. “From ownership, management, coaching, players, it’s second to none. Everyone makes the environment … we put in the work every day and we’re hard on each other and we push each other, but we have fun doing it and everyone enjoys being around each other.
“I don’t think I’ve seen many teams where even outside of the rink guys aren’t sick of each other,” Dobson added. “Guys always want to be together on the road at all times. It just says a lot about the group of guys and how much we care for each other and love being around each other. That’s awesome to be a part of.”
A memorable summer for Dobson
It was a busy summer for Dobson and his wife, who is from Dover, Mass., and used to work as a NASCAR reporter. They put the finishing touches on their new home in Cape Cod and Alexa gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Veronika.
Dobson also returned to his home town of Summerside, P.E.I., for the fourth annual Noah Dobson HockeyFest, which is billed as the largest street-hockey event in the world and raises money to help support adults in the area with intellectual disabilities.
My column on Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson never forgetting where he came from in Prince Edward Island and becoming the Pride of Summerside #Habs: https://t.co/wR7Uwbrx5Z
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) August 28, 2026
“Not a lot of travel, really,” Dobson said about his summer. “My wife was pretty pregnant in July. So we were just training and skating, getting a couple of golf games in and then the baby came. Kind of focused on that, getting ready for the season. … It’s great having a nice daughter, a healthy beautiful daughter.
“We had lot of help around once the baby came,” Dobson added about their time in Cape Cod with his wife’s family nearby. “Every mom needs their mom going through that stuff, so it was good. It’s been great so far. Wife’s been awesome. It’s been great being a dad.”
Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson and his wife, Alexa, recently did a baby reveal from the balcony of their downtown Montreal condo with a great view of the Leonard Cohen mural on Crescent St., which she posted on her Instagram account #Habs pic.twitter.com/8reSm7IpP7
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) February 18, 2026
Dobson was also able to catch up with some of his former Islanders teammates at a wedding this summer and they were asking him what it’s like playing for the Canadiens.
“They were curious just what it’s like,” he said. “They saw in the playoffs just the atmosphere on the streets and in the rink. But you know, every single guy I’ve played with one of their favourite road games every year is at the Bell Centre. So guys have an understanding, but I feel like you don’t really know what it’s like until you live it and you go through it. Especially last year through the playoffs, there’s no place like it.”
Downtown life suits Dobson
In Montreal, Dobson and his wife live in a high-rise downtown condo with a spectacular view that includes the giant mural of Leonard Cohen on a Crescent St. building. They also have a small Shih Tzu dog named Maxime.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t much of a dog person,” Dobson said. “I had a family dog growing up, but I’ve been away for a while. My wife grew up with Shih Tzus her whole life and she found a teacup Shih Tzu last year and thought it would be a great addition. I love it. It brings so much joy, just like a kid. When you get home, just how excited she is.
“She’s pretty well known,” Dobson added with a chuckle about Maxime. “She’s out in the streets walking lots. Doesn’t take much to exercise her with the small legs. But it’s been a great addition — just brings a lot of joy to the household each and every day no matter how your day’s going. You play a good game or a bad game, it doesn’t matter. They treat you and great you the same. So it’s been awesome.”
Exploring the city
Dobson said his wife is looking forward to getting out more this season around town with the baby and the dog.
“Last year was tough because she didn’t really get to experience much,” Dobson said. “When you’re pregnant you don’t feel well and you get to a point where you just kind of hunker down. She’s been-super excited to be back (in Montreal). She’s an awesome mom and it brings her joy each day just to have a daughter, especially. As she gets older they’re going to be best friends, you can already tell.
“It’s been great for her to get back in the city,” Dobson added. “The weather’s been awesome. She’s been out, lots of walks with the stroller with the baby and enjoying life. It’s been great so far.”
Canadiens’ Noah Dobson, right, and Juraj Slafkovsky celebrate Dobson’s goal that was called back because the play was off-side in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes in Montreal on May 25, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
It helps so many of the Canadiens’ players wives have recently become moms, including the wives of Suzuki, Alexandre Carrier and Samuel Montembeault. Matheson’s wife gave birth to their third child this summer.
“They got their mom groups going on,” Dobson said. “They got the music classes and all the stuff with the babies. That’s important. I think especially the first-time moms to go through it together and just kind of bounce things off each other: ‘Oh, this is what mine’s doing at this age.’ It’s important. I’m sure it’s only going to bring the girls even more closer and they’re really going to enjoy it and have fun with it.”
Kreider impressed
Kreider was asked after the Canadiens’ final pre-season game at the Bell Centre — a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators — what has impressed him the most about his new team and teammates.
“To be honest, it’s got nothing to do with the stuff on the ice,” said the 35-year-old, who is in his 15th NHL season after spending 13 years with the New York Rangers and one with the Anaheim Ducks. “Really good guys, really enjoy being around each other. Really good group, really good culture. That’s not an easy thing to do and not something to take from granted.
“It’s a lot of fun, but everyone works super hard, too,” Kreider added. “Guys are on the ice early, (extra) touches every single day. Guys are on the ice late. They love working and they have fun doing it.”
One of the fun things the Canadiens do is the Circle of Friendship after victories and Kreider’s new teammates are involving him in it. The veteran still isn’t certain exactly what he’s supposed to do.
“I have no idea,” he said after the final pre-season game. “I just got pulled into it and, apparently, today I squated too low. Last game I didn’t squat low enough. So I don’t know. I’m learning.”
What does he make of the post-game celebration?
“I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m confused. You’d have to ask someone else. I don’t know what’s going on. I just work here.”
Kreider was also asked about the importance of a team having fun.
“It’s a balancing act, but it’s an enormous part of it,” he said. “It’s a game at the end of the day. If you’re not having fun, what’s the point, right? At the same time, winning’s a whole lot more fun.”
Coach’s keys to success
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis believes two of the keys to a team having success are culture and continuity. He also believes his team now has both.
Kreider is the only new player the Canadiens added during the off-season and St. Louis said that makes his job easier since he’s not starting from zero, trying to get everyone on the same page.
It’s a big difference in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs added 12 new players during the off-season.
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“We’re at a total different stage,” St. Louis said about the Canadiens’ rebuilding process. “All the stages have been fun to go through. There’s challenges in all of them. When you’re trying to build a team, develop young players, there’s challenges all the time. Not necessarily wins, losses, expectations. We’re aware there’s more that’s expected from us and we’ve earned that. And we know the kind of responsibility that comes with that and I feel like we come in each and every day living up to our own standards that we’ve built.
“But there’s going to be challenges,” St. Louis added. “We know — we just don’t know what they’re going to be. But there will be and we’re ready. We’re good at repairing usually. … I don’t think we’re reinventing anything. There was a good foundation of it, but we really defined it and we were able to build an environment that allowed the culture to grow. And the only reason why the culture has grown is because of the individuals inside that environment.”
Knuckles Xhekaj
Florian Xhekaj is used to having cuts and scrapes on his knuckles from fighting.
He has yet to play a regular-season game for the Canadiens this season, but Xhekaj’s knuckles are already banged up from a fight he had with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Marshall Rifai during his first pre-season game. It was the only fight Xhekaj had during three pre-season games as the 6-foot-4, 215-pound forward looked to show management he can do a lot more than just drop the gloves.
Xhekaj succeeded and made the team to start the season, but was a healthy scratch for the first game — a 3-2 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday night.
“I thought the first (pre-season) game I was kind of getting into it and they were upset when I was hitting some of their top guys,” Xhekaj said. “They were upset with me. The guy (Rifai) kind of had to do something about it, I feel, to show (up) and I was all for it. And then after that not too many fights were there, I guess.
“I don’t really go around looking for them, but the way I play, obviously, they’re going to come,” Xhekaj added. “It was good to have one fight. But, yeah, my knuckles are pretty banged up anyways. They get cut every other game. That’s fine, though.”
I asked Xhekaj if he had seen the video clip of him battling with Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews in the first pre-season game, which led to Rifai challenging him.
“Yeah, I did see that,” Xhekaj said with a chuckle. “That was funny. I just looked to the net and I was just going to box him out and then he was kind of slashing me and giving it back to me. I mean, I liked it. I was like, this is great.”
Xhekaj was penalized for cross-checking Matthews.
“I don’t know how I got a penalty for that and he didn’t, to be honest,” Xhekaj said. “But if I can get under the skin of better players then it makes me more impactful. So I think that’s huge in my game.”
Xhekaj realizes he will have to build a relationship with NHL referees because of his reputation.
Florian Xhekaj, right, fights for position with Braden Hache in front of goalie Sam Montembeault during Canadiens training camp practice at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard on Sept. 18, 2026. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
“I think when you’re out there just skating laps around the rink (in warmup), just go up to the refs, ask: ‘How’s it going?’ They obviously know before the game what type of player we are and kind of what we’re going to do out there. They talk to me, too. They always talk to me, like: ‘You’re doing good, you’re hitting clean,’ stuff like that. And if I’m doing anything a little late or doing something after the whistle they don’t like, they’ll always talk to me. You kind of just build that relationship with them.
“Obviously, you don’t yell at them,” Xhekaj added. “I don’t think I’ve ever yelled at a ref, honestly. It’s not something I do and it’s not something I want to do because I know if I yell at them them they’re going to end up maybe keeping a tighter eye on what I do and penalize me for questionable things.”
Knuckles Nilan
Former Canadien Chris (Knuckles) Nilan, not surprisingly, is a big fan of the Xhekaj brothers — Florian and Arber.
Nilan holds the Canadiens’ record for most career penalty minutes with 2,248. Lyle Odelein ranks second with 1,367.
Nilan is a regular panellist on The Gazette’s weekly Hockey Inside/Out Show and bonus episodes. In a bonus episode this week about the Xhekaj brothers I asked Nilan how he got the nickname Knuckles.
“A kid in college, Jerry Dwyer,” Nilan said. “A teammate of mine at Northeastern (University). I got it because I used to show up to practice with my hands like that (banged up) and you couldn’t fight in college hockey, so they were like: ‘What the hell is going on with this kid?’
“I was honing my skills on the street,” added Nilan, who grew up in Boston.
Nilan had an interesting way to deal with his banged-up knuckles while playing with the Canadiens.
“You know how I dealt with it?” he said. “I would just bite hunks of skin off my knuckles when they were flapping. And there were nights I certainly had to ice my hands, but you deal with it and suck it up, buttercup.”
The Canadiens selected Nilan in the 19th round (231st overall) of the 1978 NHL Draft and he went on to play 10 seasons with the team, becoming much more than just a fighter. In 1984-85, Nilan had 21-16-37 totals and also set a franchise record with 358 penalty minutes. The next season, Nilan had 19-15-34 totals and 274 penalty minutes and the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup.
“Back then, it was like fight and we’ll worry about the hockey playing later,” Nilan recalled with a chuckle about his early days with the Canadiens. “I always said it: When I got here, I had guys like (assistant coach) Claude Ruel working with me day in and day out, which helped me develop some of the finer skills of the game to be able to apply them in a game. And then when (Jacques) Lemaire came he really took it to another level with me as an assistant coach and then a head coach. He really refined some of those things that helped me become a full-time NHL player.”