Montreal Canadiens News

Montreal has signed Marc Del Gaizo to a one-year, two-way contract.

Injuries on Nashville's blueline last season helped Del Gaizo become a lineup-regular for the first time at the NHL level, scoring nine points (2G / 7A) in 46 games. The 25-year-old defenseman has primarily played in the AHL, including scoring 12 points (8G / 4A) in 30 games with the Milwaukee Admirals last season.

Marc Del Gaizo
Montreal has signed Sean Farrell to a one-year, two-way contract.

Farrell was Montreal's fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old played six games for the Canadiens in the 2022-23 season but has exclusively played in the AHL since. He scored 44 points (20G / 24A) in 67 games with the Laval Rocket (AHL) last season.

Sean Farrell
Montreal has signed Nathan Clurman to a one-year, two-way contract.

Clurman made his NHL debut last season, playing one game with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and has signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Montreal Canadiens. The 27-year-old Clurman scored 11 points (2G / 9A) in 31 games from the blueline with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) last season.

Nathan Clurman
Montreal has signed Sammy Blais to a one-year, $775,000 contract.

Blais had a breakout 2022-23 season, scoring 20 points (9G / 11A) in 31 games with the St. Louis Blues, but only scored seven points (1G / 6A) in 53 games in 2023-24 and ultimately spent the entirety of the 2024-25 season in the AHL. After losing Joel Armia and Michael Pezzetta, the Canadiens will look to Blais to compete for a bottom-six role in the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Sammy Blais
The Canadiens have signed Kaapo Kahkonen to a one-year deal worth $1.15M AAV.

Kahkonen had a one-game stint with the Colorado Avalanche early in the 2024-25 season when they were experimenting with goalies, but failed to impress and spent the remainder of the season in the AHL. The 28-year-old goalie had a 2.30 GAA and .906 SV% in 12 games (8-4-0) with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) last season. His last campaign as a full-time goalie on an NHL roster was in 2022-23 with the San Jose Sharks when he posted a 3.81 GAA and .895 SV% in 31 games (6-20-3). He will likely be third on Montreal's depth chart behind Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes.

Kaapo Kahkonen
The Canadiens have acquired Zack Bolduc from the Blues for Logan Mailloux

Montreal and St. Louis completed a one-for-one prospect swap just hours before the Free Agency window after they agreed to trade forward Zack Bolduc for Logan Mailloux. Bolduc is a 22-year-old right-winger who was drafted in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. Across 72 games with St. Louis in his first full season in 2024-25, he had 19 goals, 36 points and a +20 plus/minus.

Zack Bolduc
The Canadiens have signed Noah Dobson to an eight-year contract extension worth $9.5M AAV ($76.0M total).

Dobson was acquired from the Islanders in a sign-and-trade, so the Canadiens were able to lock him up to an eight-year deal and get a $5.5M AAV raise from his previous contract. Dobson is one of the NHL's best goal-scoring defensemen, having posted double-digit goals in four straight seasons. He ranks 14th among blueliners with 46 goals during that stretch. In Montreal, he'll have to battle with the likes of Lane Hutson for PP1 time, and his most likely path to that usage is if Montreal uses both of them on the same unit.

Noah Dobson
The Canadiens have acquired Noah Dobson from the Islanders for Emil Heineman, a 2025 first-round pick (No.16 overall) and a 2025 first-round pick (No.17 overall).

Dobson had a breakout 70-point campaign in 2023-24, but followed that up with just 39 points (10G / 29A) in 71 games last season. Some of that can be attributed to the Islanders' power-play dipping from 19th (20.4%) to 31st (12.6%), resulting in 12 fewer power-play assists. In Montreal, he'll be a huge minute eater, but a bounce-back fantasy season could be tougher to come by because of Lane Hutson. Obviously, they could end up together on the top PP unit, but he's now got significantly more competition for PP time, even if it wasn't always fruitful in New York.

Noah Dobson
Carrier (undisclosed) took full part in warmups and is expected to play in Game 5 in Washington.

Carrier was limited to only 13:39 time-on-ice in Sunday's 5-2 Game 4 loss to the Washington Capitals, exiting the contest due to an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old defenseman had two points (1G / 1A) and was averaging 22:00 time-on-ice in the three games before his injury.

Alexandre Carrier
Dobes will start Game 5 in Washington on Wednesday.

Dobes was thrust into the Canadiens' crease midway through Game 3 after Samuel Montembeault suffered a lower-body injury and will remain there on Wednesday in a must-win Game 5. The 23-year-old Dobes was serviceable in his first career playoff start in Game 4, saving 21 of 24 shots (.875 SV%), but allowed a goal late in the third period en route to a 5-2 loss. The Canadiens are down 3-1 in the series and enter Game 5 as +160 road underdogs against the Washington Capitals.

Jakub Dobes
Montembeault (lower-body) did not travel to Washington for Game 5 on Wednesday.

Montembeault exited Game 3 midway through the second period due to a lower-body injury and will not play for a second consecutive game. Jakub Dobes was between the pipes for the Canadiens in Game 4 and will return to the crease for Game 5. Montembeault remains day-to-day but did not travel with the team to Washington.

Sam Montembeault
Carrier (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision for Game 5 in Washington on Wednesday.

Carrier was limited to only 13:39 time-on-ice in Sunday's 5-2 Game 4 loss to the Washington Capitals, exiting the contest due to an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old defenseman had two points (1G / 1A) and was averaging 22:00 time-on-ice in the three games before his injury.

Alexandre Carrier
Carrier (undisclosed) was without an injury update after leaving Game 4 after taking a hit from Tom Wilson.

Carrier was limited to only 13:39 time-on-ice in Sunday's 5-2 Game 4 loss to the Washington Capitals, exiting the contest due to an undisclosed injury. The 28-year-old defenseman had two points (1G / 1A) and was averaging 22:00 time-on-ice in the three games before his injury.

Alexandre Carrier