In the 15th of a 32 part series leading up to the start of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season, we will look at the key off-season transactions made by all NHL organizations with an overall grade. Here are the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadiens have added a forward and defenseman in the offseason. They are forward Zachary Bolduc of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec and defenseman Noah Dobson of Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Both of these players came to the Canadiens via a trade rather than free agency.
Zachary Bolduc
Bolduc was traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Canadiens on Canada Day for defenseman Logan Mailloux of Belle River Ontario. In a very interesting decision, Bolduc is projected to be on the Canadiens second line with Kirby Dach and Ivan Demidov.
In 2024-25, Bolduc had 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 72 games. He was a +20 with 37 penalty minutes, 12 power-play points, 120 shots on goal, five faceoff wins, 36 blocked shots, 108 hits, 17 takeaways and 59 giveaways.
Noah Dobson
The Canadiens acquired Dobson from the New York Islanders on June 27. In return, the Islanders received left winger Emil Heineman, the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft (right winger Victor Eklund), and the 17th overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft (defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson of Toronto, Ontario). This past season, Aitcheson played with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. After the acquisition, Dobson signed an eight year contract extension worth $76 million. He is projected to be on the Canadiens defense with fellow Canadian Kaiden Guhle of Sherwood Park, Alberta. This would be the Canadiens number one defensive pairing.
In 2024-25, Dobson had 10 goals and 29 assists for 39 points in 71 games. He was a -16 with 28 penalty minutes, 12 power-play points, one shorthanded point, one game-winning goal, 196 shots on goal, 126 blocked shots, 57 hits, 36 takeaways, and 108 giveaways. The game-winning goal came on March 16 in a 4-2 Islanders win over the Florida Panthers.
Projected Grade
The fact that the Canadiens added an elite defender deserves high praise indeed. I first watched Dobson when he won the 2018 Memorial Cup with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, and thought he had the skillset to be an elite blueliner. In Bolduc, the Canadiens are getting an underrated winger whose +20 last season definitely went under the radar. The Canadiens would have liked to have added a second line center to replace Christian Dvorak, and their inability to do so is why the Canadiens get an offseason grade of a B+ rather than an A.
