Canadiens Tensions to Spill Into Regular Season

The Montreal Canadiens open the 2024-25 season with a couple of games against heated rivals.

Sep 26, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj (72) and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves (75) battle for the puck in the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Tensions are always high between the Montreal Canadiens and two of their biggest rivals, but things have escalated to a new level heading into the 2024-25 season. The bad blood between the Canadiens and their close rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Ottawa Senators, is being fueled by big hits, injuries, fights, with the NHL Department of Player Safety already having to get involved once.

The Canadiens open their regular season against the Maple Leafs, then just a few days later take on the Senators. There’s already an expectation that tensions built in the preseason will boil over.

“There’s some stuff that happened in these games,” Frank Corrado said on TSN. “The Patrik Laine incident, Kirby Dach getting hit by Ridly Greig, Arber Xhekaj answering back at Tim Stutzle. Specifically with the Ottawa games, that’s a lot of regulars… I can certainly see a lot of that carrying over into regular season games.”

Over the course of the preseason, the Canadiens have lost Laine to a brutal knee injury against the Maple Leafs, saw Xhekaj retaliate to that hit, as well as throw a questionable one of his own against Stutzle with the Senators.

Xhekaj was fined for his retaliation against Maple Leafs’ AHL forward Cedric Pare but had no disciplinary action for his hit on Stutzle.

Pare’s knee-on-knee against Laine will keep the newest Canadiens star out of the lineup for at least a few months, and Montreal fans have not been decent about the situation. The Maple Leafs had to step in and shut down Pare’s social media due to an influx of death threats from Canadiens fans.

“I have no doubt these three teams are going to have a spillover of the chippiness that we saw in the preseason into the regular season.”

Corrado also made a point that he expects to see the Maple Leafs own enforcer, Ryan Reaves, to be in the lineup on opening night. Things are heated between the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, and Reaves can be there to try and facilitate the emotions.

"There should be plenty of grit on the Leafs team anyway," Corrado said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan Reaves is in the lineup."

The Canadiens and Maple Leafs open their seasons on October 9, and there are sure to be some fireworks.

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