Montreal Canadiens sign Lucas Condotta, Nicolas Beaudin to deals

The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Lucas Condotta and defenseman Nicolas Beaudin to contracts, the team announced Thursday.

Condotta’s deal will be a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 in the NHL. The 25-year-old is entering his third year in the organization, which included him scoring a goal in his first NHL game with Montreal last year. The center had 16 goals and 31 points in 72 games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, his first year of pro hockey. He got his first taste of the AHL the year prior with a seven-game regular season stint, followed by putting up four points in 10 playoff games.

Prior to turning pro, Condotta had a four-year run with UMass-Lowell in the NCAA. A feisty utility forward, Condotto had 24 goals and 52 points over 121 games. Condotta went undrafted after finishing his junior career with the OJHL’s Markham Royals.

Beaudin’s contract is a one-year, two-way pact worth $775,000 in the NHL and $90,000 in the AHL. The 23-year-old was originally drafted 27th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2018 but wasn’t able to snag a full-time gig with the club. Beaudin has six points in 22 games over three NHL campaigns with Chicago before getting traded early in 2022-23 to Montreal. It was in Laval where Beaudin put up his best AHL numbers to date, with two goals and 25 points in 39 games.

A depth defenseman, Beaudin has 67 points in 176 AHL games over four seasons. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Spengler Cup and the 2021 World Hockey Championship, where he won gold with a victory over Finland.

The Canadiens are currently $3.5 million over the cap limit, but are expected to clear Carey Price’s $10.5 million off the books if he hits LTIR for the season. Jesse Ylonen remains the only player unsigned at this point, with the Canadiens focusing on depth pieces, for the most part, this summer during the team’s rebuild.