Montreal Canadiens sign Rafael Harvey-Pinard to two-year contract

The Montreal Canadiens have signed 24-year-old forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard to a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.1 million. He will earn $1.2 million in year one and $1 million in year two.

Harvey-Pinard split the 2022-23 season between the Canadiens and the Laval Rocket of the AHL.
In 40 AHL games, he scored 16 goals and 31 points finishing tied for fourth on the Canadiens’ affiliate in goals. He played 34 games in the NHL for the Canadiens, scoring 14 goals and 20 points with a +7 rating.

Remarkably, even though Harvey-Pinard split the season between the NHL and AHL he finished fourth on both the Canadiens and Rocket in goals with 16 and 14, respectively. On the Canadiens, he was tied with former 30-goal scorer Mike Hoffman and former third overall pick Kirby Dach in goals scored this past season.

Harvey-Pinard was drafted by the Canadiens in the seventh-round of the 2019 NHL Draft as an overager playing for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL. As he was drafted at the age of 20, Harvey-Pinard slotted right into the AHL in his D+1 season. He didn’t disappoint, scoring nine goals and 20 points in 36 games during his rookie season.

In 2021-22, Harvey-Pinard really came into his own, with a remarkable season in the AHL, scoring 21 goals and 56 points in 69 games for the Rocket. He topped that off with 10 points in 15 playoffs games and four NHL games in Montreal, including one where he scored his first NHL goal.

Harvey-Pinard played most of last season on a line with Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson, it remains to be seen whether he will have the opportunity to play with those established NHL players again this season. He will likely move up and down the lineup wherever his services are needed for the Canadiens’ organisation.