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Montreal Canadiens defenseman Logan Mailloux – (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Suggestions Canadiens Should Trade Mailloux Make Perfect Sense

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Ryan Szporer | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 10:55 AM ET

It’s obviously great Montreal Canadiens defenseman Logan Mailloux made his second American Hockey League All-Star Classic in two seasons. However, that shouldn’t mean much regarding his overall NHL ceiling. At least it shouldn’t in the eyes of prospective suitors for his services, in the wake of The Athletic’s Chris Johnston placing the 2021 first-round pick on his trade board. What should move the needle more is how he just made the AHL Top Prospects Team for the 2024-25 season. If the Habs want to capitalize on the perception he is a legit top prospect, this offseason is the time to do it. And they should.

Mailloux a Standout on Laval Rocket

Of course, it’s yet another accolade for Mailloux, who led all Laval Rocket defensemen in scoring for the second straight season as the team reached the conference final these Calder Cup Playoffs. There should be little debate that Mailloux has established himself as a talented defenseman upon reaching the professional ranks. However, being a great AHL defenseman doesn’t necessarily translate to being a great NHL one, as evidenced by how winners of the Eddie Shore Award, which is presented to the league’s best rearguard, traditionally don’t translate that success at the game’s highest level.

Since the turn of the century, only three winners have made the transition to arguably enjoy similar, consistent NHL success: Justin Schultz (2012-13), Johnny Boychuk (2008-09) and Niklas Kronwall (2004-05). Canadiens fans should recognize a few others, who spent time in the organization, on the list: Zach Redmond (2018-19), Sami Niku (2017-18), Matt Taormina (2016-17), Chris Wideman (2014-15) and Mark Barberio (2011-12).

The most significant name is probably Wideman, who retired last September after playing the last two seasons of his career with the Canadiens. He had signed on, in a bid to return from the Kontinental Hockey League, where in one season he regained NHL interest after having failed to establish himself in the NHL since turning pro in 2012-13. However, his limitations were evident and he eventually developed into a depth defenseman on the team during the rebuild, which, not to minimize his or the careers of everyone above, was a contribution at the NHL level, nevertheless. It just didn’t speak to the capabilities he showed in the AHL.

Maybe Mailloux can buck the trend. That’s where making the AHL Top Prospects Team is significant. It’s a fairly new initiative that began in 2023. To qualify, skaters must be at most 22 to start the season and go on to play at least 36 AHL games (and less than 30 in the NHL). On the 2024-25 edition, Mailloux, who just turned 22, was joined by fellow former first-round picks Bradly Nadeau (2023), Dalibor Dvorsky (2023) and Konsta Helenius (2024). Defenseman Scott Morrow (2021 second-round pick) and Jet Greaves (undrafted) rounded out the team. The two other editions are similarly rife with names that many consider future NHLers (if not current, like Tyson Foerster of the Philadelphia Flyers, Jiri Kulich of the Buffalo Sabres and Lukas Reichel of the Chicago Blackhawks on the inaugural team).

Simon Nemec and David Jiricek, who went at Nos. 2 and 6 in at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft (where the Canadiens picked Juraj Slafkovsky first), also made the inaugural team. Shane Wright, who went No. 4, made the 2023-24 team. All that to say, whether you believe any of those players will become top-end NHL players or not, they are undeniably big names. Mailloux is in fairly significant company, positioning himself to potentially become an impact player with the Habs. So, naturally, they should take the opportunity to trade him?

Mailloux Partly Victimized by Canadiens’ Depth

Disregarding Mailloux’s well-documented shortcomings in his own zone, it probably serves everyone well to take a deep breath and objectively asses the team’s depth at his position. The Canadiens actually played Lane Hutson, who’s probably nailed down the No. 1 defenseman role for the next decade in principle, on Mailloux’s right side in the playoffs. Even if they were to move him back his natural left side, there’s no way the Habs play the two offensively inclined defensemen together. Granted, Hutson is much more defensively capable than most give him credit for being, but you would still want him doing what he does best when he’s on the ice. Hanging back to cover for a separate “offenseman” isn’t it.

So, that really leaves two spots for Mailloux to potentially claim. Alexandre Carrier’s arrival this past December via trade in part coincided with the team’s climb up the standings. It’s safe to say the 29-year-old has one of those locked down, especially with David Savard having retired and the team in general requiring more of a veteran presence. He’s someone general manager Kent Hughes may want to consider extending past the 2027 expiry of his deal.

Based on the fact the Canadiens drafted rightee David Reinbacher fifth overall in 2023, they probably have him earmarked for another, especially taking into account his apparently successful rehabilitation from a knee injury suffered this past preseason. Ultimately though, it appears neither Mailloux nor Reinbacher are ready for the NHL, at least based on analyst Bruno Gervais’ opinion (6:05), with the latter seemingly possessing more of an inside track.

Time for Canadiens to Make a Decision on Mailloux

Mailloux won’t be waiver-eligible until 2026-27. So, the Canadiens don’t need to absolutely commit one way or another to how they’re going to approach the Mailloux situation right away. However, you presumably don’t want to rush him into NHL duty out of training camp next season, especially if it’s only going to be as a seventh defenseman, and you don’t want to be forced to keep him in 2026 instead of potentially losing him for nothing off waivers.

Patience could pay off here. Mailloux may develop into a viable, defensively aware NHL defenseman. It’s more likely than not though, if he does make it, he’ll hit a similar ceiling as Wideman as a power-play specialist the Canadiens have to otherwise shelter. There’s nothing wrong with that, but such a role wouldn’t align with expectations his spot on the AHL Top Prospects Team are setting, maybe in the minds of other GMs.

Of course, there’s also a chance Mailloux doesn’t make it at all. Now’s the time for the Canadiens to assess the likelihood of each scenario and act accordingly. If acting accordingly involves trading him this offseason, no one should be surprised. At this point, it would be more of a surprise were he to reach his initial potential, especially with the Habs, even if only due to a projected lack of space on the roster. Hopefully another team has it instead, because he’s earned it based on the list of accolades he’s compiling at the AHL level. There comes a time when you need to start compiling them in the NHL, though. The Top Prospects Team has a limit of Mailloux’s 22 years of age for a reason.