With the NHL and NHLPA recently ratifying the four-year CBA extension beginning in 2026-27, several changes will be coming at that time. One change is an increase in minimum salaries which will have an impact on some of Montreal’s recall options.
Now that the bulk of free agent spending has come and gone, let’s take a look back at Montreal’s draft class from last month, a group that had some intriguing picks and also some surprising ones.
The Habs took care of another of their restricted free agents on Thursday as the team announced that they’ve signed defenceman William Trudeau to a one-year, two-way contract.
The Habs entered the second day of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft with ten picks on hand and ultimately made nine. As is tradition, here’s a rundown of their selections with scouting reports on most of their newest prospects.
The first round of this year’s draft takes place on Friday starting at 7:00 PM ET while rounds two through seven will be on Saturday beginning at 12:00 PM ET. Sportsnet, TVA Sports, and ESPN have coverage of Round 1 while Sportsnet and the NHL Network will also televise Day 2.
A little more than a decade ago, the Habs took Michael McCarron late in the first round. While William Horcoff has some similarities in terms of stature, he’s not the same player and could be a worthwhile selection for Montreal on Friday.
The 2025 NHL Entry Draft is almost upon us which means it’s time for our annual mock draft. As is tradition, we’ve picked the entire first round. In addition, we’ve also picked Montreal’s next five selections after the top round.
We’ve reached the top group of our 2025 Draft Rankings. This is a tier that some expected Montreal to be in at the start of the season but now, if they want to land one of the players on this list, they’ll have to swing a big trade to do so.
Braeden Cootes doesn’t have the highest of ceilings among players likely to go somewhere around the middle of the first round on Friday but he’s a legitimate centre who plays with plenty of energy and should be an impactful NHLer for a long time.
If the Habs are looking to add some size up front with some scoring touch, one player they may have their eye on is winger Lynden Lakovic, a player who might need a bit of extra development time to realize his potential.