Tonight’s season opener at the Bell Centre promises to be unforgettable—but not just for the reasons you might expect. While fans are buzzing with anticipation for the first puck drop of the 2025-2026 campaign, there’s an undercurrent of controversy swirling behind the scenes that could leave both the Montreal Canadiens and their supporters stunned.

As the city prepares to honor a legendary figure in hockey, the organization finds itself facing an unexpected dilemma—one that few could have predicted, and that reveals just how strict and surprising the National Hockey League’s rulebook can be. With Gary Bettman at the helm, even the most heartfelt gestures aren’t immune to official scrutiny, and tonight’s events may come with a price that goes far beyond the scoreboard.

What could possibly happen during a tribute that would lead to a penalty from the highest levels of NHL leadership? Why are Kent Hughes and the Canadiens suddenly under the microscope, and what does this mean for the team’s reputation moving forward?

As the excitement builds and the Bell Centre fills with emotion, there’s more at stake than meets the eye. Stay tuned—because the full story behind tonight’s ceremony will surprise you.

Photo of Gary Bettman

Photo credit: NHL

There are some of Gary Bettman and the National Hockey League’s rules that will never stop surprising us.

We can think of the automatic fines for rookies playing their first NHL game who take their traditional “rookie lap” without a helmet, and now, we can also think of this…

A sanction will be imposed by Gary Bettman and the NHL on Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens due to tonight’s ceremony

You read that right!

Thanks in part to the beautiful tribute being held tonight at the Bell Centre for legend Ken Dryden, who sadly passed away after a battle with cancer, the game will obviously start a little later than usual.

“A couple of notes for tomorrow’s Canadiens home opener:

– Get to your seats early, pre-game ceremony set to start at 6:50 due to homage planned for Ken Dryden

– The players will then be introduced on the ice, to the sound of their individually chosen songs.”

– Marco D’Amico

“Here’s a fun fact for you ahead of the Habs home opener.

The Canadiens game is expected to start at 7:19PM, 2 mins over the official start time and they will happily pay the 20K for doing so.

That’s right. The NHL fines teams 10k for every minute they’re over the start time.”

– Shaun Starr

Well, for that reason, the Canadiens will be penalized by the NHL!

It’s pretty wild to say that the Canadiens will be penalized by the NHL simply because the organization wants to pay a nice tribute to Ken Dryden, but still..

And if there’s any “unplanned” delay, it’ll be an additional $10,000 fine per extra minute of delay.

Anyway, I can’t wait for tonight!

It’s going to be a fantastic ceremony for the first game of the 2025-2026 season live from the Bell Centre!

More details to come.