{"id":864967,"date":"2026-08-20T12:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/864967\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:16:12","slug":"canadiens-stanley-cup-window-open-for-next-six-years-tsns-craig-button-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/864967\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens’ Stanley Cup window open for next six years, TSN’s Craig Button says"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Canadiens exceeded expectations last season by reaching the Eastern Conference final \u2014 and Craig Button believes that was no fluke.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the former general manager of the Calgary Flames<\/a> said the Canadiens have the talent and depth to be a Stanley Cup contender for at least the next six years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou build your team with young players and prospects. Then you watch them grow,\u201d Button told The Gazette by telephone. \u201cThis is a team that has a lot of good players in their lineup and still has good players on the horizon. I think they\u2019re going to be in Stanley Cup contention and (the) conversation for at least the next half-dozen years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have good young players progressing nicely,\u201d added Button, who is an analyst for TSN and its director of scouting. \u201cKey positions are covered off. I\u2019m comfortable and confident saying they can be in the Stanley Cup contender conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are many components of the Canadiens\u2019 roster Button is bullish about, starting with captain Nick Suzuki<\/a>, whom he considers an elite No. 1 centre. Button said Juraj Slafkovsky took massive strides last season, when he scored a career-high 30 goals. He also believes Russian rookie Ivan Demidov<\/a> will only improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they have five top-line forwards,\u201d Button said, including Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook in the conversation. \u201cI don\u2019t know how many teams have that luxury. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow do we account for growth in an individual player\u2019s game? How do we account for maturity? How do we account for those areas of growth that are hard to measure? You can assume, and are hopeful, that a player will mature and take the next step. There\u2019s (potential) there for this team to grow.\u201d <\/p>\n

In Jakub Dobes<\/a> and Jacob Fowler, Button believes the Canadiens have two starting goaltenders, noting general manager Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, the president of hockey operations, eventually will have to make a decision.<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n

While Button remains surprised veteran netminder Samuel Montembeault is part of the mix, giving the Canadiens three players at the position<\/a>, he said management might be loath to have Dobes and Fowler, still early in their NHL careers, carrying the load.<\/p>\n

\u201cDobes has shown he\u2019s a top-notch goaltender and can be a workhorse,\u201d Button said. \u201cThe day may come in the future where they have to make a decision, but I think they\u2019re sitting on two No. 1 goaltenders. I don\u2019t know how many teams in the league have that luxury. They\u2019re in a really good spot there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Button said he\u2019s not necessarily surprised Hughes hasn\u2019t been actively attempting to tinker with his roster, seeking an elusive second-line centre or another defenceman who shoots right. Button said Canadiens management has always taken a calculated approach and could be waiting until October or November to identify any glaring weaknesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have all kinds of (depth) to make moves,\u201d he said. \u201cMoves for the sake of making moves \u2026 isn\u2019t the right thing to do. This team has shown they have the moxie, competitiveness and skill. When the right move is there to be made, Hughes and Gorton have shown they\u2019ll make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given his druthers, Button would like to see the Canadiens add some size deeper into their lineup, suggesting it serves as an advantage in the playoffs, wearing teams down while maintaining a competitive edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarolina isn\u2019t big in terms of their star quality,\u201d Button said. \u201cWhere they were really able to grind (teams) down was with the depth at forward and the bottom pair of defence. That would be an area (for the Canadiens) to explore and try to bolster. A bit of heaviness in the depth group.\u201d <\/p>\n

Button realizes it\u2019s not easy to make the playoffs, let alone win a round. And he understands the Canadiens are in a tough division, competing against Florida, which figures to be healthier, Tampa Bay and a resurgent Buffalo team. Detroit also is knocking on the door and Toronto could have something to prove after missing the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels like now there\u2019s a narrative around the team,\u201d Button said. \u201cI think this team loves to go out and show everybody doubt us at your peril. They just want to play. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re trying to prove anybody wrong. They\u2019re just trying to show everybody they\u2019re a good team, have good players, and we\u2019re going to show you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re a team that\u2019s good enough to return to the final four.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Profile<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Canadiens exceeded expectations last season by reaching the Eastern Conference final \u2014 and Craig Button believes that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-864967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}