HabsWorld.net --
The Habs have signed one of their defence prospects although they’ll be waiting a little while before they can see him in action. The team announced Friday that they’ve signed Bogdan Konyushkov to a two-year, entry-level contract.
PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry a $1,013,750 cap hit with a $1.05 million AAV. It breaks down as follows:
2026-27: $850,000 NHL salary, $102,500 signing bonus, $72,500 games played bonus, $85,000 AHL salary
2027-28: $967,500 NHL salary, $107,500 signing bonus, $85,000 AHL salary
This announcement came on the heels of his KHL team Torpedo revealing earlier in the day that they had released him to enable him to sign with Montreal. However, as part of the agreement, the Canadiens will be loaning the 23-year-old back to Torpedo for the upcoming season.
The Habs selected Konyushkov in the fourth round in the 2023 draft, picking him 110th overall. It was his third year of eligibility but a strong KHL showing where he averaged over 20 minutes per game made management think that he was worth a flyer.
Konyushkov has continued to log big minutes since then and is coming off his best offensive season, one that saw him put up seven goals and 31 assists in 67 games. That was good for 12th in points among blueliners; one of the 11 ahead of him was Reilly Walsh, who signed with Montreal earlier this week.
By structuring the deal this way (signing him now with a loan agreement), it should permit the Canadiens to get Konyushkov to North America as soon as Torpedo’s season (and potential playoff run) comes to an end. Otherwise, they may have had to wait until May 31st, 2027, for his original contract to expire. The games played bonuses in the contract suggest both sides see a scenario where he could come over and play late in the year or in the playoffs.
We’ve seen the Habs be willing to play a prospect down the stretch in recent years, doing so with Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov and they appear to have been willing to do so with Michael Hage last season as well. Konyushkov doesn’t have anywhere near the ceiling that those players do but his game is pretty well NHL-ready now in terms of being able to step onto a third pairing.
Having an extra option potentially available to them for a playoff run is good news for the Canadiens although they’ll have to burn one of their 50 contract slots on him to have that extra option available to them. Clearly, management feels the trade-off is worth it. Meanwhile, had they waited until next year to sign Konyushkov, it only would have been a one-year pact so the team isn’t losing any long-term control by signing him now.
