Atlantic Top-3: Alain Crête “wouldn’t be surprised” to see the Canadiens there

Dose
Crédit: MONTREAL, CANADA - APRIL 16: Nick Suzuki #14 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates Juraj Slafkovský #20, Alexandre Carrier #45, Mike Matheson #8 and Cole Caufield #13 during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre on April 16, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

There’s a great deal of optimism surrounding the Canadiens for the upcoming season. The club has just made the playoffs, it has a promising young core and it made some great acquisitions over the summer.It almost makes you wonder whether a season ending without a playoff berth would be seen as a complete failure around town… because in reality, it’s a real possibility after all.But clearly, there’s a growing sense of expectation around town. And this morning, on BPM Sports, Alain Crête got down to the nitty-gritty of talking about his expectations for the Habs in 2025-26…And he made one big statement:

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Canadiens finished in the top three of their association.

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Alain Crête

[content-ads]It’s worth pointing out that although he’s talking about the association, he’s not referring to the conference, but the division. He sees the Canadiens as having a chance of finishing in the top-3 in the Atlantic, not the East. That’san important nuance.But what we do understand is that the studio host of RDS’s Habs games likes what he sees of the Canadiens… while reminding us that there are questions surrounding the three Atlantic powerhouses. The Maple Leafs have lost Mitch Marner, the Panthers may have full-body syndrome (and we know that Matthew Tkachuk will miss the first few months of the season) and the Lightning haven’t made it very far in the playoffs in recent seasons. But the fact remains that these three clubs are still good teams… and that there are other good teams in the Atlantic, including the Senators and Red Wings. There’s a world in which the Habs surprise one of the big three… but there’s also a world in which they’re the team who’ll get the short end of the stick.In September, every team believes in its chances, you know. Let’s see how it goes over the next few months.[spacer title=’Overtime’]- That’s why he’s in Las Vegas right now.

– The next NHL Draft will take place on June 26 and 27. We should know by the end of the year which city will host this draft, once again decentralized.

– The question arises.

– Touching.

– An outdoor game in Europe?