The Montreal Canadiens have struggled significantly at the start of the 2024-25 season. What was anticipated to be a year of development has instead seen the team and many players regress. Currently, they are positioned near the bottom of the standings, and the season already appears bleak with only a quarter of it completed. While the overall performance has faltered, three players have particularly underperformed. Let’s examine these three disappointing Canadiens players.
Disappointing Canadiens Players
**Arber Xhekaj**
Xhekaj’s difficulties began even before the regular season kicked off. He incurred major penalties in two pre-season games, directly impacting the teams’ losses in both matches. Following these events, head coach Martin St. Louis became more cautious with the young defenseman. Consequently, Xhekaj has lost some of his assertiveness. He has avoided physical play early in the season, rarely engaging in fights and straying from his aggressive style. Defensively, his performance has also declined, marking some of the lowest points in his career to date. While Xhekaj has shown slight improvement recently, he still has not recaptured his former physicality, and his offensive output has diminished, managing only a couple of assists. He needs to balance physical play with discipline; otherwise, his fit on the defense remains uncertain.
**Alex Newhook**
Newhook was anticipated to thrive this season after posting a career-high 34 points in just 54 games last year. The Canadiens traded for him before the 2023 draft, expecting him to bolster the team, but he has struggled with only five goals and no assists so far. He’s received significant ice time in the top six and second-unit power play, which makes his lack of scoring puzzling considering the talent around him. His role remains ambiguous, as he’s played both wing and center. Newhook excels when utilizing his speed in transition, as seen in his impressive end-to-end goal against the Devils. To establish himself as a reliable top-nine player for the future, he needs to define his role within the team.
**Kirby Dach**
Dach missed all of last season after an injury in just the second game, leading to some expectations of rust. However, his current performance has been surprisingly poor; he has only eight points in 21 games. Initially starting as the second-line center, he has frequently been shuffled in the lineup, even facing demotion to the fourth line as a reprimand from St. Louis. While a slow start can be understood after his long absence, the pressure to improve will continue to grow. Dach, who seemed eager to return, has yet to show that urgency on the ice, consistently losing puck battles, making turnovers, and struggling defensively. Time is still on his side, but Canadiens fans are becoming increasingly impatient for the emergence of the promising second-line center they expected when he was acquired.
