HabsWorld.net --
The following dates are the deadlines by which the Habs must sign a currently unsigned player or relinquish their rights without compensation:
June 1, 2026:
Owen Protz (4/102, 2024 – Brantford, OHL)
August 15, 2026:
Emmett Croteau (5/162, 2022 – Dartmouth, NCAA)
Luke Mittelstadt (7/197, 2023 – Minnesota, NCAA)
Jack Smith (4/102, 2020 – Minnesota State, NCAA)*
June 1, 2027:
Alexis Cournoyer (5/145, 2025 – Cape Breton, QMJHL)
Filip Eriksson (6/165, 2023 – Lulea, SHL)
Carlos Handel (6/177, 2025 – Halifax, QMJHL)
Andrew MacNiel (6/189, 2025 – Kitchener, OHL)
Quentin Miller (4/128, 2023 – Denver, NCAA)
Hayden Paupanekis (3/69, 2025 – Kelowna, WHL)
Bryce Pickford (3/81, 2025 – Medicine Hat, WHL)
Miller originally was listed as June 1, 2025 but by leaving the QMJHL to play in the USHL one year after being drafted, his signing timeline was extended by two years. Cournoyer is expected to go to college which will extend his timeline as well.
August 15, 2027:
Sam Harris (5/133, 2023 – Denver, NCAA)
June 1, 2028:
Rasmus Bergqvist (7/224, 2024 – Skelleftea, SHL)
Aatos Koivu (3/70, 2024 – TPS, Liiga)
Mikus Vecvanags (5/134, Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL)
August 15, 2028:
Michael Hage (1/21, 2024 – Michigan, NCAA)
Logan Sawyer (3/78, 2024 – Providence, NCAA)
August 15, 2029:
Ben Merrill (6/166, 2024 – Boston University, NCAA)
Maxon Vig (7/209, 2025 – Bemidji State, NCAA)
August 15, 2030:
L.J. Mooney (4/113, 2025 – USNTDP, USHL)
Indefinite Rights:
Alexander Gordin (6/171, 2020 – Gornyak, VHL)
Makar Khanin (7/210, 2024 – Dynamo, MHL)
Bogdan Konyushkov (4/110, 2023 – Torpedo, KHL)
Dmitri Kostenko (3/87, 2021 – Khimik, VHL)
Arseni Radkov (3/82, 2025 – Tyumenski, MHL)
Ty Smilanic (3/74, 2020 – Trois-Rivieres, ECHL)
Daniil Sobolev (5/142, 2021 – Khimik, VHL)
Yevgeni Volokhin (5/144, 2023 – Spartak, KHL)
Alexander Zharovsky (2/34, 2025 – Tolpar, MHL)
* Player can drop out of college and become a UFA one year earlier than their listed date if they so desire as it will be their fourth year since being drafted.
Under the CBA extension set for September 2026, new changes to player rights will be in effect and will largely be age-based. It’s unclear if this will modify existing signing timelines or if players drafted before then will be grandfathered under the old rules.
