The Canadian kept himself far from the crazy expenses

The increase in the wage ceiling in the NHL, twinned by a cohort of more or less interesting autonomous players, opened the way for outrageous expenses across the league.

Several signatures have had something to make an eyebrow.

The Canadian was held far from aberrant hires in this 1^is July. Despite the acquisition of defender Noah Dobson on Friday, and despite rumors surrounding the possible arrival of Jordan Kyrou in Montreal, the organization has not unduly accelerated the process by wasting dollars and assets that could be useful later.

The Canadian nevertheless found a way to improve with well -targeted additions, starting with the transaction which brought forward Zachary Bolduc in return from defender Logan Mailloux.

We can easily consider the former winger of the Blues of St. Louis as the successor of Emil Heineman, that the CH had to give in to the New York Icelanders in the exchange of Dobson.

In videoconference, Bolduc described himself as a quick attacker, with a good throw and efficient in check before, in addition to having added a physical dimension to his game since his arrival in professional ranks. It is for all practical purposes in the same terms as described by the director general Kent Hughes.

Even before Heineman’s departure, the Canadiens’ staff was concerned that his attacker’s group was not the fastest. He recovers in Bolduc a fairly dynamic player who produced a lot in a limited role, last season in St. Louis.

His prolific end of calendar – 21 points to his last 28 regular season games – could justify that he seemed a bit shaken by the transaction when he was told. Bolduc admitted that the exchange had taken him by surprise, and the fact that he distinguished himself in this way offensively should have given him the impression that he was sheltered from a change of scenery.

Bolduc has scored 19 goals while playing less than 13 minutes on average per game, a harvest higher than that of Heineman. The former first-round choice in 2021, among other things, finished ex-aequo at the forefront of Blues meters with seven goals in digital advantage.

Bolduc worked from the circles when he led the five of the Quebec ramparts, but it was by posing at the center of the enclave – a role for which the Canadian did not really specialist – that he scored most of his goals on the five of the Blues attack.

The 22 -year -old trifluvian, who arrives at the last year of his entry contract, still has to improve the defensive aspect of his game, but the same can be said about the player against whom he was exchanged.

Mailloux had had a brilliant season recruited in the American League in 2023-24, but the improvement of his defensive game and his decision-making was not enough to convince the Canadian that he was part of the future.

Hughes said, however, that Mailloux had nothing to blame himself for and that the Canadian, following the acquisition of Dobson, had rather gone Bolduc, taking advantage of a defense surplus.

When I saw that Dobson was coming to it and that he had signed for eight years, there was not going to be a lot of ice available for the defenders. This is after that that I really saw the possibility of being exchanged, but I knew nothing before today.

I’m really happy and happy to go to St. Louis and start with guys thereadded the new blues color rack.

Status quo at the center?

With the lack of good center players available on the market for autonomous players, Hughes had long understood that the possibility of improving this position would go more through a transaction than by a signature on 1^is July.

The tricolor now has less than $ 6 million under the salary ceiling, which limits its options to add an impact center. After saying a few weeks ago that he was open to giving Kirby Dach another chance, Hughes added Tuesday that he was very likely that Alex Newhook is also playing in the center position next year.

We are ready to start the season as such, but at the same time we continue to work on the phonesaid the DG About this nerve position.

Hughes decided that he was not going to compete with the Philadelphia flyers, for example, who granted $ 5.4 million to Christian Dvorak for the next season.

The young Oliver Kapanen will certainly have the opportunity to get a position in the fall, but overall, the Canadian has kept wasting precious ammunition by finding a jumped solution at the center which might not have improved so much.

We are not going to set up the perfect team in the space of a summer, added Hughes, who is well aware of the lack of left -wing centers in his organization. We recognize that there are other things that we have to do.

Blais will bring robustness

In addition to the challenge of the center position, there is also that of players intended to evolve in inferiority next season. He lost Dvorak as well as Joel Armia, hired for two seasons by the Kings of Los Angeles.

Hughes did not rule out the possibility that a player can be attracted to Montreal with this description of task in mind, but above all he anticipates that internal solutions will be found to overcome this problem. After Josh Anderson last season, it would not be surprising that Newhook was called to contribute in this department.

The robust winger Samuel Blais, hired for a year at $ 775,000, was not used in inferiority in the National League and in the American League, but it was above all his robustness that he hopes to put forward to win a position with the team and return to the NHL.

Since the start of my professional career, it has never been easy, I always had to work for my post. Even after winning the Stanley Cup nothing has ever been given to me, and it is correct.

I am happy with the efforts I put in Abbotsford (Editor’s note the Vancouver Cannucks school club with which he won the Calder Cup). I found the pleasure of playing and it was for me there.

At the time of commenting on the hiring of Blais, Hughes of course underlined his physical side, but also the fact that his versatility gave him a good chance of playing in Montreal next season.

In short

– A well -known center player intends to return to the NHL next season. It is the Russian Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was the main center player of Ivan Demidov with the Saint Petersburg ska.

His representatives, who see the Canadian as an interesting destination for Kuznetsov, believe that his interest in him will be high enough so that he does not have to settle for a simple invitation to the training camp.

However, the negotiations started with any team and it could flow a month before Kuznetsov determines where he will play next year. Kuznetsov has a turbulent past, and it is not certain that the Canadian will be comfortable integrating a free electron like him in his locker room.

– The Canadian offered a one -year -old one -year -old contract to goalkeeper Kaapo Kähkönen who will bring him $ 1.15 million. It was necessary to expect a hiring of the genre after Cayden Primeau had been exchanged to the Hurricanes of Caroline, because the team wanted to get their hands on a veteran capable of supporting the young Jacob Fowler with the Rocket of Laval.

A one -way contract will have a dissuasive aspect for teams likely to be interested in Kähkönen if the latter is subjected to ballot during the training camp. He therefore appears as an excellent goalkeeper no 3 in the short term, and the fact that he was playing in the NHL before last season will put pressure on the young Jakub Dobes so that he defends his substitute post to Samuel Montembeault.

I believe a lot about competition, Hughes said. Whether Kähkönen, Dobes or anyone, he must arrive at the training camp and that he competes for his position. But it is sure that when you sign a goalkeeper, you want to keep it if you have to put it on the ballot.

-Two alumni of the Laval Rocket will make their third stay in the Canadian school club. Alex Belzile, a former Rocket captain, signed a two -part contract for one season. It is still very productive on the scale of the American League and its leadership will be precious.

Perhaps more surprising will be the return of defender Tobie Paquette-Bisson, who signed a contract from the American League with Laval. However, he left two years ago saying that he was ready to move on.

Paquette-Bisson is now 28 years old and seeing him again with the Rocket in a big brother’s role means that Tyler Wotherspoon will not be back with the training next year.