Most Overrated Montreal Canadiens for 2026-27 – The Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens

For the second consecutive year, a Montreal Canadiens rookie for all intents and purposes met or exceeded the lofty expectations laid at their feet. In 2024-25, defenseman Lane Hutson won the Calder Memorial Trophy, while Ivan Demidov just fell short in 2025-26, nevertheless leading all rookies in scoring with 62 points.

The general thought process in leaving first-year players off lists like this, of the most overrated Canadiens players heading into a specific season, is because it’s only fair to see them in NHL action first before assessing their capabilities and whether or not they live up to the hype. That having been said, sophomores are relatively fair game, as this edition for 2026-27 shows:

3. Oliver Kapanen

In forward Oliver Kapanen’s defense, whereas Demidov led all rookies in scoring, he himself put together a very good season, statistically speaking. He scored a near-field-leading 22 goals (Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks and Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders with 23), while totalling 37 points.

Those aren’t bad numbers and, in fact, one could make a very good case that he too, like Demidov, exceeded expectations, vastly so. The problem is the underlying statistics, which should prompt one to wonder how much of Kapanen’s 16.8% shooting percentage (and linemate Alex Newhook’s team-leading 21.3%) has to do with their skills and how much of their success is a direct result of playing with Demidov.

I’d be worried if the model said Kapanen was driving his line… He’s playing his role well enough right now, finishing and filling in blanks. His results away from Demidov are catastrophic, and I don’t know that his 22.5% sh % with Demidov is refelctive of his true talent. https://t.co/eYdysLWZX6 pic.twitter.com/0BIaEAKOqA

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 15, 2026

Kapanen is incredibly polarizing, with many expressing skepticism that he is the Canadiens’ legitimate solution to their years-long search for a second-line centre, especially with top-prospect Michael Hage potentially set to make his long-awaited debut (late) this season. Many still meanwhile go to the opposite extreme and argue Hage has become expendable. The actual truth is probably somewhere in the middle, i.e., that Kapanen is a perfectly viable NHLer, who should be given credit for complementing Demidov to such a degree that he was able to score a significant amount of goals, but that the Habs, all due respect to him, can conceivably upgrade on him at the position, whether through Hage or someone else. That puts him at No. 3 here.

2. Jake Evans

Similar to with Kapanen above, Jake Evans can be accused of punching above his weight upon having been deployed in a top-six role in the past. For example, largely playing with Demidov and Newhook over a recent 19-game stretch, over which Kapanen was a recurring healthy scratch, Evans scored a fairly impressive 10 points.

When you consider those games comprised the team’s three-round playoff run, the knee-jerk reaction is to shower Evans with accolades, and there is admittedly something to that suggestion, in that Evans is a valuable role player. In fact, with the departure of Brendan Gallagher, he makes for a legitimate candidate to take on more of an official leadership role.

There is still a danger of relying on him to produce consistently in an offensive role. He admittedly came close this past season to matching his career-high 13-goal, 36-point output in 2024-25, when he earned a new four-year, $11.4 million extension. In scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 68 games, he in one shot proved the 36 weren’t a fluke, the deal was a pretty decent one, and also, especially now that he is 30 years old, he is unfortunately most likely peaking. It’s not a bad ceiling, just not one fans should confuse with that of player who can be sustainably deployed in the top six, when he’s more accurately an above-average fourth-line centre.

1. Kaiden Guhle

Some thing that needs to be emphasized time and again is the players on these lists aren’t bad players. Any fans should want players like Kapanen and Evans on their team, just in the right roles. Now entering his fifth NHL season, defenseman Kaiden Guhle’s role is far from adequately defined, including on which side he’s meant to play.

Injuries have probably factored in, with him having played just 208 out of a possible 328 games so far. Despite having signed a relatively lucrative six-year, $33.3 million deal, which kicked in after the 24-year-old’s entry-level one expired, he remains in flux in the lineup. Even as a left-handed shot, which should make it fairly clear to head coach Martin St. Louis, Guhle’s most common pairing last season was with Mike Matheson, when he played on the right… although he still ended up playing more on his natural side, just across several pairing combinations.

It hasn’t helped that the Canadiens are flush with left-handed shots on defense, to the point they have commonly resorted to playing Hutson, arguably their most valuable player, on his off side, theoretically sacrificing some of his output in the process (which is a scary thought), to make room. And, for the second playoffs in a row, the Habs took to playing Guhle on the left alongside Hutson. What’s interesting to note is that, while that represented Guhle’s most common pairing, it was only Hutson’s second-most-common, as the team paired him with Noah Dobson for 10 more total minutes… despite Dobson having missed most of the first round.

Obviously, the Canadiens hold Guhle in fairly high esteem and he remains valuable. It’s a legitimate question to ask if his value is highest as a trade chip, though. His output these past playoffs, when he contributed eight assists in 19 games, sparks hope he can rebound in 2026-27, from what should be widely acknowledged as a bad season, in which he tallied just 11 total points in 39 games. It’s not acknowledged widely enough though, along with how he has far higher to climb to reach his potential as an all-around defenseman and former 16th-overall pick. With that, some may argue the Habs need his 6-foot-3 size (202 pounds) on defense, but, even then, with him only playing 1:42 per game shorthanded, behind three other defensemen, he has significant room to move up the lineup. It remains to be seen if he will or even can.