Head coach Martin St-Louis often uses the analogy of having players “in the right chair”—placing them in situations where they can thrive. His philosophy is simple: if a player is asked to take on too big of a role or play a position outside their comfort zone, they won’t perform at their best.
While the Canadiens have been relatively healthy this season—especially compared to the past few years, when they led the league in man-games lost—we’re still seeing players stuck in the wrong chairs.
Mike Matheson
Matheson is not a 25-minute-a-night, number-one defenseman. He never has been, and he likely never will be. Yet, at 31 years old, he’s being deployed as one—facing top opposition in key situations, which is exposing his limitations. This situation feels eerily similar to Patrice Brisebois’ tenure in Montreal, where overuse turned a solid player into a lightning rod for criticism. Ideally, Matheson would play around 20–21 minutes on a second pairing, with more favourable matchups.
Samuel Montembeault
The evidence is clear: Montembeault is not a true number-one goaltender. At best, he’s a 1B—ideally, a backup. In his 27 wins, he boasts an elite 1.74 GAA, a .937 save percentage, and four shutouts. But in his 23 losses, those numbers balloon to a 4.45 GAA and a .850 save percentage. In recent weeks, in wins as in losses, he has allowed some very questionable goals forcing his teams to come from behind. His situation mirrors Jake Allen’s time in St. Louis—effective in a tandem role but inconsistent when leaned on as a full-time starter. The starter’s chair simply isn’t his.
Kirby Dach
Another season, another injury. The experiment of Dach as a second-line center has failed. His faceoff struggles persist, and his minus-29 rating is the worst on the team. The bigger question is: where does he actually fit? Is he a top-six scoring forward? A third-liner? One thing is clear—he’s not an NHL-caliber second-line center.
Bonus: Left-Handed Defensemen on the Right Side
Any left-handed defenseman forced to play the right side has struggled. While Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle have looked “okay” at times, their performances have been noticeably stronger when playing their natural positions. That’s to be expected, as we’ve described in detail before. The Habs need to rebalance their left-right defensive pairings—especially with David Savard likely gone next season.
Conclusion
St-Louis has made it clear in the past that he prefers his defensemen playing on their natural side. While David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux are promising right-shot prospects, they’re still a few years away from handling top-four NHL minutes against elite competition. That leaves Kent Hughes with a key offseason challenge: reshaping the roster to ensure players are in roles that suit them.
If the Canadiens are serious about taking the next step, they’ll need to give St-Louis the tools to put his players “in the right chair.” It’s time for the right hand to coordinate with the left—because until then, the team will remain stuck in the wrong seats.
