Canadiens' Newest Signee is Perfect for This Position

The Montreal Canadiens' newest off-season signee, Joe Veleno, is a former Exceptional Status player, the first ever in the QMJHL, meaning he started playing major junior hockey as a 15-year-old, a year earlier than the league's general age limit.

Veleno was a dominant junior player, amassing 266 points through 230 games over four seasons of junior hockey, split between the Saint John Sea Dogs and Drummondville Voltigeurs.

The Detroit Red Wings made Veleno their guy, announcing the Montreal, QC native as their selection at pick 30 in the 2018 draft, betting on his scoring skills and two-way acumen to develop into something special that could aid the Red Wings in short order.

Veleno's final season in the QMJHL, where he scored 100 points, earned him plenty of hype. Unfortunately, his professional career hasn't turned out the way he would like. The Red Wings organization gave him plenty of time, but the reward wasn't to their liking.

Veleno's best offensive season came in 2023-24, where he scored 28 points in 80 games, but his plus/minus differential (-18) isn't exactly what you want to see from a center. The following season, 2024-25, saw Veleno's numbers dip (5-5-10), and he played just 56 games for the Red Wings before being dealt to Chicago.

The Chicago Blackhawks sent goaltender Petr Mrazek and forward Craig Smith to the Wings for Veleno, who played just 18 games with the club before being dealt to the Seattle Kraken for winger Andre Burakovsky during the current offseason.

Without a contract in hand, it was obvious that the Kraken didn't have Veleno in their plans for the 2025-26 season, so the Canadiens waited and took a shot on the 25-year-old center, in a move to shore up their depth.

Veleno's 28 points, his career best, seem indicative of him becoming the Canadiens' fourth-line center, perhaps between Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson, creating a trio that can cause headaches for the opposition, while chipping in some underrated offense.

Should Veleno have any plans of increasing his career-best, Gallagher and Anderson could be two helpful guys that instill some grit and attitude into Veleno's game, a move that should be tremendous for his confidence.

A change of scenery was necessary, but before he can be labelled an NHL journeyman, maybe two veterans who have had to adapt their game and move down the lineup could teach him a thing or two.

Jake Evans has long been the Canadiens' fourth-line center, but until Veleno proves worthy of a promotion to the top nine, the fourth-line center post makes so much sense for head coach Martin St. Louis's squad, which was needing a replacement for Christian Dvorak, who signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.