Canadiens sign Davidson, McKown to one-year contracts

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Monday that they have signed forwards Jared Davidson and Hunter McKown to one-year, two-way contracts for the 2026-27 season.

Davidson, a 24-year-old native of Edmonton, was Montreal’s fifth-round selection with the No. 130 overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.

Standing six feet tall, Davidson made his NHL debut this past season, recording one assist while skating in 10 games during the regular season. While playing for the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate Laval Rocket, he posted 25 points on 16 goals and 9 assists in 53 games played.

That was a step back in terms of offensive production at the AHL level from 2024-25, when he racked up 24 goals and 21 assists for 45 points in 69 appearances.

Montreal acquired McKown from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade that sent fellow AHL forward Luke Tuch the other way. McKown is a native of San Jose who went undrafted following an impressive collegiate career with Colorado College of the NCAA.

McKown made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets in 2022-23, posting a pair of points (both assists) in 12 appearances. The 23-year-old has spent each of the last three seasons entirely in the AHL with Columbus’ affiliate Cleveland Monsters, where he racked up 25 points in 63 regular season games in the 2025-26 campaign.

Both of these forwards will provide quality AHL depth with experience at the NHL level to the Rocket, which won the AHL’s North Division with a 41-23-3-5 record before losing in five games to the Toronto Marlies in the division semifinals during the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Laval joined the organization’s NHL club as putting together an impressive regular season and winning at least one postseason round, as the Canadiens were a surprise entrant in the Eastern Conference Final after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres to emerge from the Atlantic Division’s portion of the Stanley Cup Playoff bracket.