Kent Hughes shocks everyone before the season even begins against a powerhouse Atlantic Division

Nick Suzuki and the Montreal Canadiens enter 2026-27 with the same roster that carried them to the Eastern Conference final, and that's the whole story right now.

Nobody expected a quiet summer after a season like that.

Montreal finished 48-24-10 for 106 points, third in the Atlantic Division, and that run included two playoff series wins before Carolina ended it in the conference final.

So Kent Hughes looked at that group and decided not to touch it.

No big trade. No marquee free agent. Just the same core, running it back.

Here's the problem. The Atlantic isn't the same division Montreal beat up on last year.

Florida finished with 84 points. Toronto was worse, 78 points, a minus-46 goal differential, and a seven-game slide to close things out.

Jakub Dobes needs real help behind him in the crease

Both of those teams spent the summer retooling, and neither one plans on watching the playoffs from home again.

Buffalo won the division outright at 109 points. Tampa Bay wasn't far behind at 106. That's four teams now jammed into a race that used to have breathing room.

Nick Suzuki scored 101 points and racked up 16 more across 19 playoff games. Lane Hutson put up 78 points from the blue line as a 22 year old.

Cole Caufield scored 51 goals. That's the foundation Hughes is banking on.

But what happens behind Jakub Dobes if he goes down or needs a night off?

Samuel Montembeault posted an .873 save percentage across 25 games last season. That's not a number you can hide in a tighter division.

Jacob Fowler, 21 years old, put up a .908 mark in 17 games, which is the more encouraging sign in that crease.

Standing pat only works if the goaltending behind your starter can hold water, and right now that's an open question in Montreal.

It's a bit like renovating the kitchen and leaving the roof leaking. The flashy stuff up front looks great until the ceiling gives out.

Martin St-Louis got this group to the conference final with a young core still figuring itself out. Doing it again with a tougher Atlantic and a shaky backup situation is a different challenge entirely.

Hughes still has moves available if things start slipping. Whether he waits until midseason or acts sooner says a lot about how much he trusts what's already in the room.