Canadiens 2025 Free Agency Preview: Edgy, big forwards top wishlist

MONTREAL— I missed the forest through the trees when Kent Hughes pulled the trigger on the trade that sent Justin Barron to the Nashville Predators and brought Alex Carrier to his Montreal Canadiens.

In fairness, I didn’t think I needed to look for it.

The Canadiens were just beginning to recover from an awful start to the season that exposed just how green their defence was, so it seemed obviously enough as to why they’d bring in a 28-year-old with nearly 300 games of NHL experience.

They were also moving the right-handed Barron from an already-thin right side, so Carrier’s right-handedness was another clear necessity.

On top of that, Carrier’s digestible contract, which was set to pay him an average of $3.75 million per year through 2027, made his acquisition a coup for both the present and the future.

Adding in Carrier’s reputation as a competitive player, his potential to eventually replace David Savard (who was playing out his last season under contract and appearing like a player who wouldn’t be brought back), and his Quebecois background, I figured there was no further analysis required to call this deal a win for the Canadiens the day they swung it in December.

But it was while I was at the March GM meetings that Hughes made the most salient point about why Carrier was specifically targeted and why he had so convincingly stabilized the Canadiens’ defence in his short time with the team.

I’m paraphrasing, but he said to me: “Look at how we play and look at his greatest strength. We play aggressively to force dump-ins and we knew he was fearless going back to get the puck and really good at moving it out.”

One thing I remember Hughes saying verbatim: “We did our homework on him.”

I distinctly recall it because it came rushing back to me last Friday—hours after right-handed, top-pairing defenceman Noah Dobson was acquired for Emil Heineman and Picks 16 and 17 in the first round of the NHL Draft. More specifically: directly after the GM started talking about how the Canadiens had spent the last year transitioning from the asset-collection phase of their rebuild to the team-building phase.

That’s when Hughes said, “I think if you look at how we play, we try to deny pucks a lot and deny ice, and we send a lot of D back…Dobson’s ability to retrieve pucks and spring the offence for us was a big piece… We did a lot of homework on (Dobson), (spoke with) a lot of people that have coached him.”

When you’re mulling over giving up those assets for the player and considering making an eight-year, $76-million commitment to him, you better take the studying to another level.

It’s not like the Canadiens didn’t have good enough intel, in watching Dobson play his first 388 games in the league, to be interested in the 25-year-old. And it’s not as if they didn’t have a need for that type of player.

But the Canadiens went as deep as they did in due diligence to ensure he fit in their room and, most importantly, fit with the way they like to play.

So, why the long preamble on this subject? Because the trade market is rolling, free agency is one sleep away, and it should be front of mind that the Canadiens’ needs at forward—both in the top-six and bottom-six—will only be filled if they can find pieces that fit with the way they like to play.

It wasn’t like that a year ago, when they made Patrik Laine the last acquisition of their asset-collection phase.

But Carrier’s acquisition was the first notable one of the current phase the Canadiens are in.

If things hadn’t changed, they’d be diving into a much deeper pool. Because they have changed, it’s shallower and they might not fill all their needs.

Where the Canadiens stand in relation to the salary cap could be an impediment as well.

All teams can exceed the upper limit by 10 per cent in the off-season, so they’re okay being roughly $3.4 million over. That still leaves them roughly $6 million to play with.

The Canadiens could have an additional $10.5 million at their disposal if they place Carey Price on the off-season long-term injury-reserve list, and they might have to because the rise in the cap—from $88 million to $95.5 million—likely makes the price to trade the final year of his deal prohibitive.

Teams have more space and less need to make that kind of trade.

The Canadiens have less space and will likely have to explore other avenues to free some up—not only to be active on the trade market, or in free agency, but also to get deals done with their own restricted free agents, like Jayden Struble and Jakub Dobes.

Roster size: 22/23
Salary committed to forwards: $56.69 million
Salary committed to defencemen: $26.8 million
Salary committed to goalies: $13.65 million
Salary committed to LTIR: $0
Salary committed to retention: $0
Salary committed to carryover bonuses: $1.75 million

Salary cap space: -$3.394 million

Potential UFA targets:

Before I identify some, I don’t see a player available in free agency that would adequately fill Montreal’s biggest need (in the top six).

I think highly of Mikael Granlund, and the Canadiens probably do as well.

But he’s 33 and hitting the market as the best centre available at a time when the cap is going up exponentially year over year. Someone is more likely to give him the type of term the Canadiens won’t.

Speaking of great older players signing for term the Canadiens won’t offer, there’s Brad Marchand.

Kent Hughes has spoke glowingly about the 37-year-old on several occasions since leaving his life as a Boston-based agent behind him, but the Cup-winner is reportedly seeking a three- or four-year deal that he’s likely to get from a team much more advanced in its contention window.

Still, when I talk about the Canadiens targeting forwards who fit with the way they want to play, Marchand is a prototype of sorts. In addition to being skilled and smart, he’s uber-competitive, excellent on the forecheck and deadly on the penalty kill.

The Canadiens lost Heineman to the Islanders, and—though they haven’t confirmed it—are about to lose Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia in free agency. Heineman was one of their best forecheckers in a system that is dependent on its forecheck, and Dvorak and Armia were key penalty killers for the ninth-best penalty kill in the league.

The open market feels like the place to nab a player or two who can do ideally do both and provide some size on a short-term contract.

Connor Brown, 31, RW, Edmonton Oilers, previous AAV ($1M)

If not for knee and groin injuries suffered in the two preceding seasons to this last one, there’d probably be more term available to this player than the Oilers were prepared to give.

Still, Brown played all 102 games the Oilers played, and he played them hard.

That’s the six-foot, 184-pounder’s identity. He plays hard. He also plays fast, kills penalties, forechecks with determination, and he can produce upwards of 40 points (even if he only had 30 last season).

Would he take a two-year deal from the Canadiens? That’s the question.

We’re not sure they’d go much longer than that for anyone fitting this profile, considering Florian Xhekaj, Luke Tuch, Owen Beck and Jared Davidson all developing well and gunning for roster spots in the near future.

Sean Kuraly, 32, C, Columbus Blue Jackets, previous AAV ($2.5 million)

He’s a six-foot-two, 215-pound edgy centre with a defensive conscious. He wins faceoffs, kills penalties, and he plays north-south.

Kuraly’s a player who might get more than two years on the market. But if he’d accept two from the Canadiens, he’d be a fit.

Mason Appleton, C/RW, Winnipeg Jets, previous AAV ($2.16 million)

A six-foot-two, 194-pounder who plays centre by nature but mostly played on the wing in Winnipeg.

Appleton is strong on the forecheck, and his 22 points last season showed he can contribute offence from the bottom end of the lineup.

Didn’t spend much time on the penalty kill last season, but can be impactful there.

Tanner Jeannot, LW, Los Angeles Kings, previous AAV ($2.66 million)

He’s six-foot-two, 220 pounds, and he plays like it.

Jeannot’s a mean player who can forecheck and fight with the best of them.

Other potential fits: Brandon Tanev, Nate Bastian, Justin Brazeau, Anthony Beauvilier, Joe Veleno, Chris Dreidger, James Reimer.