Analyzing What Zack Bolduc’s Next Contract Could Look Like

Zack Bolduc is coming off a sophomore season that included major challenges, including a 31-game goalless drought in the second half of the season, after scoring 10 goals in his first 37 games. He went from a player who was on pace for a solid 22 goals in the first half of his debut year with the Canadiens to finishing the year with just 12 goals and 30 points. 

On the other hand, Bolduc showed that he could be a physical force towards the end of the season and seemed as if he really started to find his role as a third-line winger on the Montreal Canadiens. His 170 hits in the regular season were the most by a Canadiens forward. Bolduc carried his physical play with him into the playoffs, which allowed him to have one of the more underrated performances on the team in the postseason during their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. He finished the post-season with three goals and seven points in 19 playoff games.

The Trois-Rivières, Quebec native really seemed to have found his stride come playoff time when the game got more physical, finishing the playoffs second on the team in hits with 47 behind only Kaiden Guhle, who had 51. As a result of his physical play late in the season and playoffs, it seems that Bolduc has found his place as a third-line checking forward for the Montreal Canadiens. He could score 25 goals with his great shot and some power play time, but his primary role will be to finish his checks on every shift as a third-line winger. He could be a great fit for an identity line in the near future.

Based on those attributes, here are some players that we can compare Bolduc with:

Forward Peyton Krebs re-upped with the Buffalo Sabres on Monday for four years at $4.5 million per year. His contract is a good comparison for Bolduc, as both players are physical third-line players for their respective teams and are able to chip in offensively. The main difference is that Bolduc is more of a goal scorer, while Krebs is more of a playmaker. Given their roles on their teams and somewhat similar playing styles, Krebs’ contract is actually a good comparison.

It can be argued that Bolduc, being two years younger, has more potential, which is why he may ask for more money than Krebs, but the Canadiens likely won’t bite on that, considering how great a negotiator Kent Hughes has been since becoming general manager in 2022. Not to mention, Bolduc scored the same number of goals and had nine fewer points than Krebs during the 2025-26 campaign. With that being said, Krebs’ contract could be a blueprint for what we should expect, but the Montreal Canadiens will possibly be able to get Bolduc locked up on a three or four-year deal with a cap hit right around $3.5-$4 million. Before the salary cap exploded over the past few seasons, Bolduc’s contract likely would have been in the $2.5-$3 million range, but times are changing, and contracts will become more expensive as time goes on. 

If the Montreal Canadiens were to instead explore the option of signing Bolduc to a longer-term contract, the comparable would have to be the deal that centre Mavrik Bourque signed with the Nashville Predators. Bourque signed a six-year contract worth $32.5 million ($5.5 million AAV) with the Predators after his RFA rights were acquired from the Dallas Stars earlier in the off-season. Now, their play styles aren’t nearly the same, as Bolduc is a lot more physical and Bourque is a centre, but both forwards have similar potential as middle-six scorers. 

While $5.5 million a season seems like a lot for a 20-goal/40-point scorer, with the cap going up, it will make more sense as the years go on. Not to mention, the Predators bought two years of Bourque’s unrestricted free agency. In that case, the Canadiens would likely need to pony up around $5-$5.5 million a season to Bolduc as well if they were to buy a year or two of his UFA years. Although it would be highly unlikely that the Canadiens would go that route, as despite Bolduc having his chair within the team, they are still not sure just how good a player he could become offensively.

The most realistic contract right now for the Canadiens to sign Bolduc, who is just coming out of his entry-level contract, is a three- or four-year deal, taking him to the final year of his restricted free agency to see exactly what they have in him over the next few years. Hughes previously had done the same with Alex Newhook and Kirby Dach in the past, each giving them four years on team-friendly deals to see what they have. Therefore, a four-year contract for $4 million a year is a fair deal for Bolduc to sign before the 2026-27 season starts.

Comment with your predictions for Bolduc’s next contract with the Montreal Canadiens.