The Canadiens made a few big splashes at the 2022 NHL Draft on July 7th and 8th which is a big part of this edition of our podcast which also looks at the beginning of free agency.

While it took a while, Kent Hughes found a suitable Jeff Petry trade over the weekend, moving him and Ryan Poehling to Pittsburgh for Mike Matheson and a fourth-round pick. Our writers offer up some mixed opinions of the swap.

When Samuel Montembeault didn’t file for arbitration on Sunday, it was a sign that a new agreement was close.  That was indeed the case as the Habs announced on Monday that the goaltender has signed a two-year contract.

While it has taken some time, the Habs have found a new home for Jeff Petry as they moved him and Ryan Poehling to Pittsburgh in exchange for defenceman Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round pick.

Montreal opted not to tender Rem Pitlick a qualifying offer back on Monday but less than a week later, he’s back with the team as the Habs announced on Saturday that they’ve signed him to a two-year deal.

With minimal cap space to work with, the Habs are spending the early part of free agency shoring up their depth as they announced the signings of Mitchell Stephens and Anthony Richard to one-year, two-way contracts.

The Habs have added a bit of defensive depth for Laval as they’ve agreed to terms with Madison Bowey on a one-year, two-way contract.

Montreal took care of a trio of pending free agents before free agency officially opened up on Wednesday, announcing the re-signings of Alex Belzile, Joel Teasdale, and Nate Schnarr to one-year, two-way contracts.

If Kent Hughes’ game plan wasn’t clear enough at last season’s trade deadline, what he did at the recent entry draft and during the qualifying period for restricted free agents are pretty good indications of what kind of a rebuild he plans on overseeing.

The Canadiens sent qualifying offers to five players by Monday’s 5 PM ET deadline while declining to tender an offer to three others, making them unrestricted free agents on Wednesday.