Montreal Canadiens
Canadiens Among Final Two Teams in Dobson Trade Sweepstakes
If you were hoping the Montreal Canadiens would make a big splash heading into the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, you might be in luck.
According to Chris Johnston, the Canadiens are among the final two teams in the Noah Dobson sweepstakes. The New York Islanders are also considering an offer from the team the Habs kept out of the playoffs this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
There was also a report from Arthur Staples that confirmed Dobson will be on the move, and that the decision on which team will be able to acquire him happening in the very near future.
This comes on the heels of a report that the Montreal Canadiens have expressed serious interest in a trade involving Dobson.
I’m as out of the loop as it gets this draft/trade/FA szn, but it appears pretty certain that Noah Dobson has played his last game with the #Isles.
Trade should be coming soon.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNHL) June 27, 2025
Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks
Dobson would check a lot of boxes for the Habs, as he would provide head coach Martin St-Louis with a few more options on the back-end thanks to his excellent mobility.
He’s also quite adept at retrieving pucks and generating controlled exits, an asset that should help most Canadiens forwards, but most notably, players like Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov.
It’s also worth noting that Dobson is just 25 years old, therefore he fits within the Stanley Cup window Canadiens management expects to be open in the upcoming seasons.
If general manager Kent Hughes does manage to pull off the trade, he will have addressed several of the team’s biggest weaknesses in one fell swoop, which is exactly what you want to see from a franchise that is hoping to maintain an upward trajectory throughout the rebuild.
As for the potential cost of acquisition, don’t be surprised if the Canadiens have included one of their first-round picks, as well as a high-level prospect such as Logan Mailloux.
Sources indicate #isles have shifted approach in Noah Dobson talks from roster players to futures and Round 1 picks tonight.
Belief is NYI seeking to package return to reach up and grab Long Island native James Hagens.
Lot of work ahead for Darche to make #Schaegens a reality.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 27, 2025
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
As long as both the trade cost and the salary make sense, I love this move. He probably won’t put up the points he did in his career year as PP1 will go to Hutson, BUT they could use 2 Dmen on PP1 (though spreading them out may be best, lots of options). I saw some analytics stuff saying Dobson’s defence has greatly improved the last 2 years… I like your analytics sources Marc, so if you could speak to Dobson’s defensive improvements, if you see any, and if we get him, that would be greatly appreciated.
This is a legit top pairing RHD who can move the puck. If Reinbacher isn’t part of the trade our top 4 of the future looks fantastic on paper. Hutson, Dobson, Guhle, Reinbacher has a nice mix of offence, defence, skating, and physicality (especially if DR gets back to his physical pre-draft ways). We can balance these pairs very nicely and spread minutes out to not have to ride one pair. We can go crazy offence on one pair, and a physical shut down second pair with Hutson-Dobson at the top, and Guhle-Reinbacher following them up, or swap the righties for two balanced pairs. Such flexibility. Great PP options.
I just REALLY hope that if he comes here he doesn’t get the $10M+ he’s been reported to be looking for. $8-9 would be lovely, though I understand with the future cap situation that may be too cheap. Just gotta remember we’ll have to pay Hutson and Demidov in the not so distant future…
But yeah, like every trade, if the price is right, I’ll be very happy ( would be cool to get a more physical Dman but we’re never get find the perfect player for every position). It would also leave Matheson wide open for a trade because he doesn’t fit anymore… unless he’s part of the Dobson package. So maybe we can get an asset back or use him to try for top 6 help… who knows.
This is cool 🙂
Will have to see whats in this trade. Reinbacher doesn’t make sense, just swapping 1 need for another. Should be Mallioux or Mathison. Should also keep 1 of those 1sts to draft a forward (hopefully a center).
It’s a little troublesome when this specific of information gets out there ahead of time. Who’s leaking it to the media? It wouldn’t make sense for one of the acquiring teams to do it. That would potentially invite more suitors and drive the price up. So, that sounds like the leak is coming from the Isles end. I guess it’s smart business to a degree from their end, but it also gives you pause to deal with a team like that. I’m sure HuGo aren’t thrilled with this news being out there. And, I have to say, all the Mailloux rumours that have been out there this summer can’t be great for the kid’s confidence. What happens if a deal doesn’t materialize? He’s gotta be thinking about whether we’re invested in him or not. That’s not great for his development. I know I tend to care about the human side of our players more than the vast majority of fans, but to me, you aren’t going to get the best out of an athlete when they’re dealing with a lot of drama in their lives away from the rink. It’s something that can’t be ignored and dismissed with the “These guys get paid millions of dollars…” rhetoric we hear over and over. Don’t get me wrong, I love trade rumours and signing rumours as much as the next guy, but in Mailloux’s case (and in players like Price, Drouin, Petry, and many others) often I think about what it’s doing to the players and their families (especially when nothing comes of the rumours).
Not sure I believe itr, Dobson is looking fo a big payday, too big…and hughes has never had anything leaked before….so probably just smoke.
It’s been confirmed by everyone by this point, including Elliotte Friedman. Down to the Habs and Columbus.
And I agree Hughes doesn’t leak, but several other teams do, hehe.