MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens are not just building a competitive hockey team; they're expanding their family in a big way. A wave of pregnancies among the wives of several key players has turned the locker room into a hub of excitement and shared experiences, underscoring the tight-knit culture the organization has cultivated during its rebuild.
Alexandre Carrier's wife, Dr. Alicia Lessard, announced on Instagram this week that she is expecting the couple's first child, a girl. Lessard, a pediatrician who co-owns a medical clinic in Côte-St-Luc, joins a growing list of Canadiens spouses in the family way. According to reports, the wives of Brendan Gallagher, Nick Suzuki, Noah Dobson, and Samuel Montembeault have all recently shared news of their pregnancies, creating what players are calling a full-fledged baby boom.
"It’s unreal," Carrier said after an optional practice Friday morning at the CN Sports Complex in Brossard. "Just talking to my wife, they text each other all the time. They compare pictures and all that. It’s been exciting."
The trend highlights the Canadiens' strategy, implemented four years ago by president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes, to assemble a core of players around the same age. Entering the season as the NHL's youngest team with an average age of 26.4, only four players are over 30: Gallagher (33), Phillip Danault (33), Mike Matheson (32), and Josh Anderson (31). This alignment has fostered bonds that extend beyond the ice.
"We’re all in the same boat … even the guys we can talk about it," Carrier added. "We all know what we’re going through all together. We know big change is coming soon, so we’ll be ready for it."
Not all the news is prospective; several players have recently welcomed children. Gallagher's wife, Emma Fortin, gave birth to their first child, Emma, last February, with a second due around July. Jake Evans's wife, Emily Flat, had twin boys last summer, while Josh Anderson's wife, Paola Finizio, welcomed daughter Stella last spring. Social media has buzzed with images of the expecting parents, including a tweet from Lucie Lachance showing Carrier's wife glowing in a dress and Gallagher's in red, captioned with excitement over the growing Habs family.
During the Olympic break, some players and their wives traveled together south, providing impromptu parenting lessons. Dobson, whose wife Alexa Sorowik is expecting a girl, recounted holding one of Evans's twin boys on the flight. "I was sitting next to Jake, who was with his wife and their two twins," Dobson said. "So I was holding one of the twin boys a little bit and getting some practice in. It’s been fun."
The 26-year-old Dobson, acquired from the New York Islanders last summer, has embraced the team's familial vibe. "That was one of the cool things for me coming to a team with a lot of guys in the same stage of life and age as me," he said. "You grow up together … a bunch of guys got married last summer and now a bunch of guys having kids. It’s cool to go through that with your teammates because they’re really like your family. You see them every day … you see them more than your wife."
Dobson added that this dynamic strengthens the team's culture. "I think it helps the culture and taking care of each other as a family," he said. "The wives are all growing up together and the players. It creates that strong bond and teams that have success have that family-like feel. I can definitely feel that here."
Younger players like 22-year-old Lane Hutson echo the sentiment. "I think we’re all kind of growing together," Hutson said. "For me and the group that’s kind of a little bit younger, we feel really comfortable with our older guys and being ourselves. But from the start it was open arms to everyone and it’s been easy to be a part of this group."
The locker room's playful side shines through in moments like last Sunday's skills competition at the Bell Centre, where Cole Caufield, 25, took faceoffs against Mike Matheson's 4-year-old son, Hudson. Caufield intentionally knocked Hudson down with his stick but laughed it off. "You got to be a little bit dirty," Caufield said with a chuckle. "I want him to be a forward and score goals. He has a lot of fun out there. It’s pretty cool."
"It’s sweet," Caufield added about spending time with teammates' kids. "Those are special times, special moments that those kids will remember. I think they’re very fortunate to be out there. Being able to get close with (Hudson) and see him grow up it’s been pretty fun." A viral video of the interaction prompted fans to joke about signing "baby Matheson" immediately.
Off the ice, the team's increased depth has presented new challenges for head coach Martin St. Louis. With Alex Newhook back in the lineup for Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders at the Bell Centre, St. Louis had to scratch forward Zachary Bolduc for the first time this season, along with Joe Veleno and Jayden Struble. Bolduc, 23, acquired from the St. Louis Blues last summer for defenseman Logan Mailloux, started strong with goals in his first three games but had gone 20 without scoring, totaling 10 goals and 23 points in 57 games with a minus-11 rating.
"Your mind has to be stronger than your emotion in anything," St. Louis said. "As a player I’ve lived it and you want to do everything you can to be part of the 12 forwards, the six Ds, the two goalies. You got to control what you can and you got to stay hungry."
St. Louis noted the difficulty of such decisions amid the team's evolution. "For me, I feel like I’ve had to make decisions before, but I feel that in the past they’ve been probably a little easier decisions in terms of the talent level that we’ve had on this team compared to now," he said. "But I feel that’s just the evolution of our team right now and it makes my job probably just a little harder … But that’s a good problem to have."
Bolduc took the scratch in stride after Friday's practice, unsure if he'd return for Saturday's game against the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., City, SNE, TVA Sports). "At the end of the day, it’s a big business and everyone wants to help the team to win, everybody wants to play more minutes," Bolduc said. "He told me it wasn’t an easy decision … I’m not stupid. I know what’s going on here."
The Islanders game featured standout play from rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the No. 1 overall pick last year, who scored twice and logged 25:56 of ice time in the win. With 18 goals and 41 points in 59 games at age 18, Schaefer is the Calder Trophy favorite, joining elite company like Bobby Orr and Rasmus Dahlin. Hutson, last year's winner with 66 points as a rookie, praised him: "He’s such a gifted skater … his compete is off the charts."
In the same game, Caufield had a goal disallowed at 4:25 of the second period after kicking the puck from behind the net, which deflected off Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin. Per NHL Rule 49.2, such plays don't count. "I’ve never seen that happen," Caufield said. "I didn’t know the rule because I didn’t kick it in the net." He did score his 33rd goal later, but the Canadiens couldn't hold the lead.
Dobson contributed two goals in the loss, reaching 12 for the season and surpassing his previous highs. The Summerside, P.E.I., native, who left home at 14 to pursue hockey in Sherbrooke, Austria, and the QMJHL, will host his fourth annual Noah Dobson HockeyFest this summer to benefit Community Connections Inc. Locally, Summerside honored him by naming a snowplow "Snowah Dobson."
Hutson, wearing No. 48 like Schaefer, is on pace for a strong season with 10 goals and 49 points in 58 games, plus-23. He's seven points from matching last year's total and could break Canadiens records for quick 60-point seasons held by Hall of Famers Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe. "I don’t really think about it too much," Hutson said. "I try to win as many puck battles as I can." With 24 games left, the Canadiens' blend of youth, family growth, and on-ice progress signals a promising future.