Montreal Canadiens Acquire Defenseman Noah Dobson

As part of the deal, as David Calabretta of Full Press Hockey reported, the Canadiens are sending the belief that it is Emil Heineman and both first-round picks (the 16th and 17th overall picks) to the Islanders.

The Canadiens don’t have to give up Logan Mailloux or David Reinbacher in the deal, which is a win for General Manager Kent Hughes.

In addition, the Canadiens have signed Noah Dobson to an eight-year contract extension that carries a $9.5 million AAV. When the Canadiens and the NHL officially announce the contract, Dobson will receive a substantial signing bonus and no-trade protection.

As written earlier this morning on Full Press Hockey, Dobson’s name had been circulating on Thursday. The Islanders had been looking to move up in the draft to select James Hagens and Matthew Schaefer.

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The Montreal Canadiens, along with the San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Nashville Predators, were among the teams in the mix for Dobson. However, he preferred to stay in the Eastern Conference, which narrowed the list down to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens.

While both teams had good offers for the Canadiens, the Blue Jackets would have to pay a high price, known as the “In-division price,” to acquire Dobson. However, he was willing to go there and sign a long-term contract.

The Canadiens are loaded on the right side with Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson. And that was part of the discussion for Executive Vice President Jeff Gorton and GM Kent Hughes: could they get Dobson to take under $10 million, knowing Hutson’s extension was coming down the line? The expectation is that Hutson would receive $10 million or more.

It will be interesting to see how the power play minutes are distributed with Hutson and Dobson, as they both play on PP1. But that is a problem for head coach Martin St. Louis.

As for the New York Islanders, work continues moving back into the Top 10 to try to get James Hagens. The rest of the teams that are drafting on Night 1 know it.

The Philadelphia Flyers are lurking at six, the Islanders can’t afford to fall below them because Hagens will be gone by then. However, reports indicate that the Flyers like Porter Martine so that the Islanders may discuss a trade with the Boston Bruins for pick seven.

The two first-round picks from Montreal will allow Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche to pull a Brian Burke and snag the two guys he wants in his very first season as a full-time general manager.

But the Canadiens make their splash landing, Noah Dobson from the Islanders, securing their blueline for the future.