Team: 2025-26 Montreal Canadiens

Initial Creation Date: Nov. 7, 2023

Published: Nov. 7, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Here's a projected look at the state of the The Athletic's Stanley Cup Checklist for the 25-26 Habs:

Elite first-line center that’s among the very best players in the world: TBD
Elite first-line winger to support the elite center: Dach
Top-line center to play behind the elite center: Suzuki
Two other top-line wingers on each of the top two lines: Slafkovsky, Caufield
Two more top-six forwards for depth in the middle six: Newhook, Beck
Elite No. 1 defenseman: Hutson
A second No. 1 defenseman to play behind him: Guhle
A top-pairing defenseman to help anchor a strong second pair with the No. 2: Reinbacher
Another top-pairing caliber defender to crush soft minutes on the third pair: Harris
A top-10 caliber starting goaltender: TBD

Obviously, this picture is subjective and maybe subject to criticism - I'm sure the debate whether Hutson's play will translate at the NHL level will start as soon as I hit Submit on this post - but the main point here is that Habs would still be short of an elite C. Time to consider packaging all the names not on this list plus all draft capital to get one.