Kent Hughes has trained us to expect fireworks every summer. Kirby Dach and Mike Matheson landed in 2022. Alex Newhook showed up in 2023. Patrik Laine walked through the door in 2024. Noah Dobson joined the blue line in 2025.

This summer? Crickets.

Hughes hasn’t hidden the fact that the trade market is priced way out of reason right now, and even though he’s been working the phones, he hasn’t found a deal that actually upgrades this roster. Outside of Joe Veleno and Brendan Gallagher heading out the door up front, this is basically the same group that’s going to hit the ice this fall — unless something comes together late, before camp opens next month.

So with the front office quiet, the real drama this summer is happening on the org chart. Here’s where I see the fights shaping up.

Who Skates Next to Demidov?

In the mix: Kapanen, Dach, Evans, Newhook, Bolduc

Every Habs fan wanted Hughes to go out and land a proven scorer to ride shotgun with Ivan Demidov on that second line. Instead, Michael Hage decided to stay in school, no trade got done, and now this gets solved from within — and almost every candidate can play center, which makes it even messier.

Kapanen’s the name I keep coming back to. Rookie year, 22 years old, 22 goals — third among all NHL rookies — before the grind of a full NHL season caught up to him and he ended up watching the playoffs from the press box. That’s a real foundation to build on.

Then there’s Dach. One more one-year deal tells you everything about how management sees him: this is his shot to finally stay healthy and cash in on that offensive ceiling everybody’s been waiting on for years. Given how many chances he’s already banked, don’t be shocked if he gets one more — right next to Demidov.

Newhook’s the other name to watch. He was at his best in the playoffs, and he already has chemistry with Demidov from that run. Wing or center — that’s St-Louis’s call. Evans probably profiles more as a depth-line piece given his D-zone game, but he can absolutely fill in when needed.

On the wing, don’t sleep on Bolduc. Nineteen goals with St. Louis in 2024-25 says the scoring touch is real, and feeding off a playmaker like Demidov could push that number higher in Montreal.

And there’s a wildcard: break up the top line entirely and reunite Slafkovsky with Demidov. It worked before. If St-Louis is comfortable finding a different third wheel for Suzuki and Caufield, that combo is back on the table.

Coach Frenchy’s take: I’m not overthinking this one — give me Newhook there on Day 1. He’s already got chemistry with Demidov from the playoff run, and unlike Dach, health isn’t a question mark. Dach earns it back in November if Newhook struggles, not before.

The 13th Forward Job

In the mix: Florian Xhekaj, Brett Berard, Owen Beck

Veleno and Gallagher leaving opens a real seat for a kid to graduate, and with Joshua Roy also out of the picture now, that competition just got wider open.

Florian Xhekaj is the obvious first name. This team got called soft too many times last year, and he brings exactly the edge that’s missing. His coach Pascal Vincent was raving about his versatility back in March — power play, penalty kill, and the ability to make good reads under pressure.

Owen Beck’s breakout has been a slow burn. Twenty-two years old, still hasn’t shown much offensively, but his defensive game has come a long way and he plays with more jam than you’d expect for his size. Like Xhekaj, he can play the middle too.

Berard could throw a wrench in things — 48 NHL games of experience already, which isn’t nothing. But at 5-foot-9, he’s not exactly the archetype this lineup is missing.

Keep an eye on Jared Davidson too, fresh off signing his deal after making a strong first impression as a physical presence last year. And don’t rule out Sacha Pustajov.

Battle for the 6th/7th Defenseman Spot

In the mix: Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, Adam Engström, David Reinbacher

Once Arber Xhekaj’s contract gets done, Montreal will have seven NHL defensemen under contract — but that doesn’t mean the pecking order is settled.

Behind Dobson, Hutson, Matheson, Guhle and Carrier, the favorites to round out the blue line are Xhekaj and Struble — both 25 heading into the season, both entrenched for three-plus years now. But they’ve got company coming up fast.

David Reinbacher finally got a real workload this year — 61 games between the regular season and playoffs — and he looked comfortable running the power play for the Rocket. The question is whether, at 21, he’s ready for the NHL, or if he needs one more year in the AHL.

Don’t forget Adam Engström either. The 22-year-old had a strong enough year to land on the AHL All-Rookie Team, put up 34 points, and got a 15-game NHL look. His mobility and puck-moving ability make him a real threat to jump the line.

Who Plays Right of Hutson?

In the mix: David Reinbacher, Kaiden Guhle, Jayden Struble, Alexandre Carrier

Once the defense pairs sort themselves out — and assuming Dobson and Matheson stay together — the real question is who lines up next to Lane Hutson.

The last two seasons made one thing clear: Hutson, a lefty, is more effective and more productive on his natural side. To get the most out of him five-on-five, Montreal needs someone who can handle the right side full-time.

Struble and Guhle are the early favorites to start the year there since both have already played alongside Hutson — but neither is a natural right-shot, so it’s not a permanent fix.

The name a lot of people are circling is Reinbacher. Fans were already dreaming about him as Hutson’s long-term partner back when Montreal drafted him in 2023. If he makes the team, that pairing gets tested for real — like it was late last season when he got the call-up. He’s got the size and the defensive game to let Hutson play with his head up and his offense unleashed.

Carrier’s case is simple: he’s a legit right-shot with a strong defensive profile that would give Hutson real freedom. It’s just a tougher fit given how Montreal ran its pairings down the stretch.

One more option nobody’s talking about enough: Dobson next to Hutson. That means breaking up a Dobson-Matheson pair that worked great last season, but St-Louis already tried it for stretches — and it’s not off the table.

Coach Frenchy’s take: This is the one to watch all camp. I don’t think Montreal opens the year with Reinbacher there — not yet — but by Christmas, if he’s still playing the way he did down the stretch for Laval, St-Louis won’t have a choice. Struble holds the fort in October, Reinbacher takes it by New Year’s.

The Backup Goalie Question

In the mix: Samuel Montembeault, Jacob Fowler

Same question, every single year in Montreal — who’s backing up the starter?

The one certainty: Jakub Dobes opens the season as the No. 1 after that incredible playoff run to the Eastern Conference Final earned him a contract extension.

The backup job is wide open. Montembeault held the fort when Dobes wasn’t ready for it, and he didn’t make waves last year despite getting buried as the No. 3 option for stretches. He’s 29, and his summer training got cut short by two groin strains — a full healthy offseason could bring back his form and his confidence. Can he win back the coaching staff’s trust? That’s the real question.

Then there’s Fowler — one of the best goalie prospects in the organization, and he already looked NHL-ready in his first pro season. A .908 save percentage and 2.43 GAA are legit NHL-caliber numbers. But he’s only 21, and he needs reps, not a seat on the bench.

Management still has to figure out how many starts a backup role would actually give him. If that number’s too low for his development, don’t be surprised if Fowler opens the year in Laval instead, getting every rep he can.

That’s my read on the camp battles, gang — five spots up for grabs and only a month to sort it out. Drop your predictions in the comments, and I’ll circle back to this list once the pads hit the ice and tell you who I got right.