Canadiens’ Adam Engstrom Has Drawn Trade Interest

Rival NHL teams have inquired about the possibility of trading for Montreal Canadiens defenseman Adam Engstrom over the course of the summer, writes Arpon Basu of The Athletic. According to Basu, the Canadiens “are open to” trading Engstrom, but they “see him as having considerable value,” meaning interested teams are unlikely to be able to pry the young defenseman loose from Montreal without surrendering something notable in return.

With approximately one month remaining until the Canadiens open training camp, any Engstrom trade would represent one of the club’s most significant offseason moves. While there have been numerous reports indicating Montreal’s interest in trading for various players, such as Columbus Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko, Montreal hasn’t made a notable external addition to their roster this summer. The team has, to their credit, worked to improve their roster along the margins, adding depth players who could reasonably have some NHL promise in Brett Berard and Maksymilian Szuber. But the big move many fans have been looking for has proven elusive.

Montreal’s quiet offseason has a direct impact on Engstrom’s situation: looking ahead to training camp, the Canadiens appear to have something of a logjam on their back end. Montreal has five defensemen set in stone as NHL regulars (Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, and Alexandre Carrier). That quintet figures to claim the top five slots on the team’s defensive depth chart, in some order. That leaves two spots, or three at most, for the rest of Montreal’s blueliners to compete for.

That means Engstrom is likely slated to compete with Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, Szuber, and 2023 No. 5 overall pick David Reinbacher for a spot on Montreal’s third pairing, or a spot in the press box as a spare defenseman.

Engstrom, who will turn 23 in November, would likely have already secured a more stable NHL role had he been playing for an organization with more openings on its defensive depth chart. The 2022 third-round pick has developed with a clear upwards trajectory since being drafted. He acquitted himself well for two seasons in the SHL before crossing the Atlantic in the summer of 2024.

Since then, Engstrom has been one of the most valuable defensemen for the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. He scored 10 goals and 34 points in 45 games last season, a performance that earned him multiple NHL call-ups and 15 total NHL games.

Engstrom is ranked as the No. 6 prospect in Montreal’s system by both Stephen Ellis of Daily Faceoff and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. Ellis called Engstrom “the best LHD” in Montreal’s prospect pool, while Wheeler noted Engstrom “has become reliable at both ends.” While neither scout credits Engstrom with true top-end upside, he’s nonetheless drawn plaudits from evaluators across the public sphere for his play in the AHL.

Based on Basu’s reporting, it appears Engstrom’s rapid development has caught the eye of other teams. Still, it appears Montreal is perfectly content to keep Engstrom and let him compete for a spot on their crowded blueline, though a trade cannot be entirely ruled out.