Saturday was the deadline for eligible players to file for salary arbitration.  The Habs had two in defenceman Jayden Struble and goaltender Jakub Dobes.  While Dobes didn’t file, Struble did.

Montreal’s biggest move on the opening day of free agency wasn’t a signing but rather a trade as they sent Logan Mailloux to St. Louis for Zachary Bolduc. Our writers offer up their thoughts on the swap.

The Habs took care of one of their restricted free agents on Tuesday along with adding some more defensive depth as they signed Sean Farrell and Marc Del Gaizo to one-year, two-way contracts.

The Habs have kicked off the start of free agency with a trade, sending defenceman Logan Mailloux to St. Louis in exchange for winger Zachary Bolduc.

The depth signings continue for the Habs on the opening day of free agency.  The team announced that they’ve signed forward Alex Belzile and defenceman Nate Clurman to one-year, two-way contracts.  

Montreal’s second signing of the free agent period is one that will bring them some physicality.  The team announced that they’ve signed winger Samuel Blais to a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000.

After trading Cayden Primeau to Carolina on Monday, the Habs needed another goaltender in the system.  They added that on Tuesday, signing Kaapo Kahkonen to a one-year, one-way contract. 

While it was a little surprising that Cayden Primeau received a qualifying offer on Monday, his time with Montreal didn’t last much longer. The team announced that they’ve traded the goaltender to Carolina for a 2026 seventh-round pick.

The Habs entered Monday with nine players in need of a qualifying offer. They ultimately decided to keep five of them while four others will now become unrestricted free agents on Tuesday.

The Habs made a big splash at the draft, just not in terms of actually drafting players. Instead, they swung the biggest trade, acquiring Noah Dobson from the Islanders. Our writers offer up their thoughts on the swap.