Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes is assembling an excellent collection of potential stars, and head coach Martin St. Louis has been praised for his work behind the bench.
The future is once again bright, but what’s in store for the upcoming season? We’ve analyzed the NHL odds at BET99 to offer a number of Montreal Canadiens predictions and NHL picks to target for the 2024-25 season.
Montreal Canadiens odds and outlook for 2024-25
All odds courtesy of BET99, as of 10-7.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
Forwards
- Juraj Slafkovsky - Nick Suzuki - Cole Caufield
- Alex Newhook - Kirby Dach - Josh Anderson
- Joshua Roy - Christian Dvorak - Brendan Gallagher
- Joel Armia - Jake Evans - Alex Barre-Boulet
- Injured: Patrik Laine (knee) - Rafael Harvey-Pinard (leg)
Defense
- Mike Matheson - Kaiden Guhle
- Lane Hutson - David Savard
- Arber Xhekaj - Justin Barron
Goalies
- Sam Montembeault
- Cayden Primeau
Canadiens regular season points prediction
This regular-season points total positions the Montreal Canadiens right in line with last year’s performance, and expecting more of the same following minimal offseason roster moves is a fair starting point.
Sure, there are oodles of reasons for optimism with the young core maturing and entering their respective primes, but the question remains: Who is the superstar in Montreal?
Any way you slice it, the best teams in the NHL have multiple stars; it’s a star-driven league. The Canadiens have a number of promising youngsters, and captain Nick Suzuki is on the verge of being a perennial point-per-game No. 1 center.
Additionally, I’m anticipating the Suzuki-Juraj Slafkovsky-Cole Caufield top line to be a nightmare for opponents most nights. Slafkovsky and Caufield aren’t far from being annual offensive forces and stars in their own right, either.
Unfortunately, loading up that top trio also leaves the rest of the lineup void of proven offensive talent. The acquisition of Patrik Laine will be delayed because of his preseason knee injury, and he’s anything but a sure thing after whimpering to 66 goals across 175 games the past four years.
It’s a similar story on the blue line, and no one should expect Sam Montembeault to morph into prime Patrick Roy. Montreal finished with the fourth-lowest Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5 while allowing the third-most expected goals per 60 minutes last year, after all.
With the Sabres, Red Wings, and Senators all making notable additions this summer and also all boasting solid young cores of their own, the Atlantic Division will be tougher. Everything will need to go right for Montreal to top last year’s 76 points, and there isn’t enough scoring depth to offset the lack of sound team defense.
Prediction: Under 76.5 points (-105 at BET99)
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Canadiens playoff prediction
There is only one betting option in this market — and it isn’t a good one.
The -1,429 odds have an implied probability of 93.5% that Montreal will miss the postseason for a fourth consecutive season, and I fully expect the Canadiens to be realistically out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline in March.
As discussed, this division improved during the offseason, and Montreal lacks the star power to go head-to-head with the top teams in both the division and Eastern Conference.
The inability to keep the puck out of its own net is also a primary reason Montreal will again fall short of punching a postseason ticket. This isn't a lineup that can outscore its troubles, either.
Prediction: To miss the playoffs (-1,429 at BET99)
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Juraj Slafkovsky points prediction
It all clicked for Slafkovsky in the second half last season, racking up 16 goals and 19 assists across the final 40 games. The 2022 first-overall pick also flashed chemistry with Suzuki and Caufield, and he proved to be a power-play fit with 12 points on the man advantage during that 40-game run.
Suzuki, Slafkovsky, and Caufield combined for an impressive 3.2 goals per 60 minutes and a respectable 50.8 Corsi For percentage at 5-on-5 last year, and they jumped to an equally solid 4.38 goals per 60 when including their shared PP time.
I also value the Montreal brass forking over a max-term $60.8 million contract extension to Slafkovsky during the offseason to cement him as a go-to guy. The best is right ahead of the emerging star, and he'll keep the good times rolling with top minutes alongside Suzuki and Caufield.
Prediction: Over 57.5 points (-110 at BET99)
