A day before the draft, Montreal made a notable move, sending picks 31 and 37 along with defenceman Gianni Fairbrother to Colorado in exchange for pending restricted free agent forward Alex Newhook. Now that Montreal’s summer activity has slowed down, our writers have mixed opinions on the swap.
It’s our centennial HabsWorld podcast, and although it’s the NHL offseason we had a lot to talk about including Montreal’s draft class, the early activity in free agency, and much more.
The Habs have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents as multiple reports indicated that they’ve re-signed Mitchell Stephens to a one-year, two-way contract.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard was one of three restricted free agents that could file for arbitration later this week but that won’t be needed now as the Canadiens announced they’ve signed the winger to a two-year deal.
The Habs have added an interesting youngster in free agency as they announced on Sunday that they’ve signed centre Lias Andersson to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal pays $775,000 in the NHL and $450,000 at the AHL level.
Saturday marked the beginning of free agency but Montreal’s first move of the day is on the trade front as they’ve moved Joel Edmundson to Washington in exchange for a pair of draft picks.
Montreal has added a pair of players that are likely heading for Laval, announcing the signings of forward Philippe Maillet and defenceman Brady Keeper to one-year, two-way contracts.
Friday was decision day for the Canadiens as to who would and wouldn’t be receiving a qualifier. In the end, of their eight remaining restricted free agents, six were tendered and two were not.
The Habs enter the second day of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft with eight picks on hand. As is tradition, we’ll keep track of their moves here with scouting reports on their newest prospects.
The Habs went into the opening round of Wednesday’s draft with the fifth selection. While there was plenty of speculation that they might trade down, they didn’t and instead selected defenceman David Reinbacher out of the Swiss league.