The 2024–25 Montreal Canadiens season was the franchise's 116th season since its establishment on December 4, 1909, and their 108th season (107th season of play) as member of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. After finishing as the worst team in the league during the 2021–22 season and fifth-last in both the 2022–23 and 2023–24 campaigns, the rebuilding Canadiens approached the season at hand with the goal of being "in the mix" for the

Stanley Cup playoffs The Stanley Cup playoffs () is the annual elimination tournament to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, and the league champion of the National Hockey League (NHL). The four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held after the NHL's regular s ...

until late March or April. Because of this, general manager Kent Hughes opted not to deal pending

unrestricted free agents In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

at the annual

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

, having judged the team's performance a success to that point. Following the NHL's midseason hiatus for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February 2025, the Canadiens performed strongly, culminating in a six-game winning streak from March 30 to April 8 that saw the team reach the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference standings, with four games remaining in their respective schedule. With other teams gradually being eliminated from playoff contention, the contest for the final wild card spot came down to the Canadiens and the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

. After losing once in regulation and twice in overtime, the Canadiens entered their final regular season game against the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

on April 16, needing a single point to qualify for the playoffs. The Canadiens ultimately defeated the Hurricanes 4–2, securing their first playoff berth since

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and, in doing so, became the last such team to clinch for 2024–25. With an average age of 25.95 years, the current iteration of the roster overtook the 2012–13 Toronto Maple Leafs as the youngest team in history to qualify for the NHL postseason. Facing off against the top-seeded

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

in the ensuing first round, Montreal was defeated in five games. After setting a number of franchise and league records for a rookie defenceman,

Lane Hutson Lane Hutson (born February 14, 2004) is an American professional ice hockey Defenceman, defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 62nd overall, by the Canadiens in the 2022 NHL ...

received the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving ...

as the

Professional Hockey Writers' Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 voting members. The ...

's choice for the season's best first-year player. He was the first Canadiens player to earn the distinction since goaltender

Ken Dryden Kenneth Wayne Dryden (born August 8, 1947) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender, politician, lawyer, businessman, and author. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was ...

in the 1971–72 season.

Standings

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Preseason

The preseason schedule was published on June 19, 2024.

Regular season

The regular season schedule was released on July 2, 2024.

Playoffs

Player statistics

Final stats

Skaters

Goaltenders

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Canadiens. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.
Bold denotes franchise record.
^*Denotes league record.

Suspensions/fines

Awards and honours

Awards

Milestones

Transactions

The Canadiens have been involved in the following transactions during the 2024–25 season.

Key

Contract is entry-level.
Contract initially takes effect in the 2025–26 season.

Trades

Notes

# Montreal will receive the highest of the (3) fourth-round picks currently owned by New Jersey (Dallas’, Winnipeg’s or New Jersey’s own), once the final draft order has been established.

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Below are the Montreal Canadiens' selections at the

2024 NHL entry draft The 2024 NHL entry draft was the 62nd NHL entry draft, entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 28–29, 2024, at Sphere (venue), Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley. As per their April 2024 agreement, all draft rights held by ...

, which was held on June 28–29, 2024, at

Sphere A sphere (from Ancient Greek, Greek , ) is a surface (mathematics), surface analogous to the circle, a curve. In solid geometry, a sphere is the Locus (mathematics), set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Notes

# The

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

' first-round pick went to Montreal as the result of a trade on June 28, 2024, that sent Winnipeg's first-round pick, Colorado's second-round pick and a seventh-round pick all in 2024 (26th, 57th and 198th overall) to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick. # The

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

's third-round pick went to Montreal as the result of a trade July 1, 2023, that sent Joel Edmundson to Washington in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2024 and this pick. #:Washington previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 28, 2023, that sent Marcus Johansson to Minnesota in exchange for this pick. # The

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

' fifth-round pick went to Montreal as the result of a trade on March 3, 2023, that sent Arvid Henrikson to San Jose in exchange for

Nick Bonino Nicholas Bonino (born April 20, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), center. He played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Nashville P ...

and this pick. # The

' seventh-round pick went to Montreal as the result of a trade July 1, 2023, that sent Joel Edmundson to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick in 2024 and this pick. # The

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

' seventh-round pick went to Montreal as the result of a trade on March 21, 2022, that sent Brett Kulak to Edmonton in exchange for William Lagesson, a conditional second-round pick in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and this pick.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2024-25 Montreal Canadiens season Montreal Canadiens seasons

Canadiens French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...