The Montreal Canadiens signed left winger Alexandre Texier of St. Martin D’heres, France on Sunday. The terms of the contract are for one year and $1 million.
Who has Texier played for?
Texier is joining his third National Hockey League franchise. He previously played five seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2018 to 2024. and the last two seasons with the St. Louis Blues.
Texier’s 2025-26 NHL statistics
Texier has one assist for one point in eight games this season. He has two penalty minutes, seven shots on goal, one faceoff win, one blocked shot, nine hits, one takeaway, and two giveaways.
The assist, blocked shot, and faceoff win came in a Blues’s 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on October 13. Texier set up Nick Bjugstad of Minneapolis, Minnesota at 13:45 of the second period and put the Blues up 4-2 at the time. The takeaway came in a 3-0 Blues win over the Buffalo Sabres on November 6. This was the last game Texier played for the Blues.
Why did Texier leave St. Louis?
According to Gabriel Sami of allhabs.com, Texier did not get along with Blues head coach Jim Montgomery. It appears Montgomery did not feel Texier was physical enough and only had nine hits this season. As a result, the Blues put Texier on unconditional wavers on November 22.
Why was there a need for Texier in Montreal?
The Canadiens reportedly like Texier’s speed. The Canadiens were in need of a forward with the recent injury to Alex Newhook. The Canadiens were reportedly very interested in signing forward David Kampf, but he went to the Vancouver Canucks instead.
Grading Texier signing
The Canadiens were in desperate need to improve their offense with the recent injuries to Kirby Dach and Newhook. Montreal has only won twice in their last nine games, despite scoring 12 times in their last three games. I am going to give a C- grade to Canadiens management at this time. The reason is because I think there was more of a need in Montreal to add a defenseman while Kaiden Guhle is out with a torn adductor muscle. The Canadiens defense has struggled more than their offense lately was they have given up 29 goals in their last six games. The Canadiens are no longer in a playoff spot as they are ninth in the Eastern Conference.
