HabsWorld.net -- 

The Habs have swung a trade although it’s not as big as many of the other ones around the NHL.  The Canadiens announced that they have acquired forward Hunter McKown from Columbus in exchange for winger Luke Tuch.

McKown signed with the Blue Jackets as an undrafted college free agent back in 2023 and made the jump to the NHL right away, getting into a dozen games down the stretch.  The 24-year-old had a pair of assists in those outings while winning a little under 56% of his faceoffs.

However, that’s the only NHL action he has seen.  Since then, McKown has played exclusively with AHL Cleveland, ranging from 24 to 31 points in each of the last three seasons.  In 2025-26, he played in 63 games with the Monsters, recording nine goals and 16 assists.  He’s set to be a pending restricted free agent this summer.

The same can be said for Tuch.  The 24-year-old was a second-round pick by the Habs back in 2020, going 47th overall while profiling as a future bottom-six forward.  While he showed some offensive potential with Boston University over his four-year college career, it hasn’t materialized into much success in the pros.

Tuch has played in two full professional seasons, recording 14 points in each of them.  It took him 68 games to get there this past season, where he tallied nine goals and five assists along with 82 penalty minutes.

It’s worth noting that McKown will have to pass through waivers to get to Laval next season while Tuch still has a year of waiver exemption.  The fact they’ve made this trade suggests that Montreal’s management believes that McKown will pass through unclaimed next season, giving the Rocket some extra centre depth, something that was an issue for them at times in 2025-26.