Canadiens acquire Noah Dobson from Islanders for two first-rounders, Emil Heineman
On Friday, the Montreal Canadiens acquired defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders. In return, the Islanders receive two first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, as well as forward Emil Heineman.
Trade details, per sources:
To #GoHabsGo:
RD Noah Dobson
(Contract extension: 8 years x $9.5m)
To #isles:
2025 No. 16 overall pick
2025 No. 17 overall pick
F Emil Heineman
As reported, expect NYI to leverage those picks to move up to try and grab Hagens.
The Islanders traded Dobson’s signing rights to the Canadiens, with the 25-year-old promptly signing an eight-year contract extension. The deal will carry an AAV of $9.5 million through the 2032-33 season. It’s a hefty pay bump for Dobson, who recently came to the end of his three-year contract, which had an AAV of $4 million.
The Isles receive the 16th and 17th overall picks in this year’s draft. The No. 17 selection originally belonged to the Habs, while the 16th pick was acquired from the Calgary Flames in the deal that saw them acquire Sean Monahan in 2022.
Dobson has proven that he can be a very useful blueliner in the NHL, especially in the offensive zone. During the 2023-24 season, the Prince Edward Island native posted career highs in assists (60) and points (70), finishing seventh in the league in scoring among defensemen. Unfortunately, that production tailed off, along with other parts of his game, this past year. With injuries limiting him to just 71 games, he posted 10 goals and 39 points, his lowest point total since the 2021 campaign.
While many are concerned with Dobson’s inefficiencies in his own zone, he brings some more offensive spark to a blue line in Montreal that features the reigning Calder Trophy winner, Lane Hutson. Being a right-handed shot, you can almost expect that Dobson would be thrown on the top pair immediately.
In 388 NHL appearances, the former first-round pick has scored 50 goals and 180 assists for 230 points.
Heineman is coming off his first full season in the NHL, playing in 62 games with the Habs last year, scoring 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points. It was his second full season playing professionally in North America, having spent the majority of 2023-24 with the Canadiens’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Laval Rocket.
With the addition of Dobson, the Canadiens have less than $2 million in cap space for the 2025-26 season, according to CapWages. The Islanders have $23.3 million available next year.