Noah Dobson trade a rare win-win for Islanders, Canadiens

Canadiens grade: A

The Canadiens began their youth movement during a heinous, nearly historic collapse in 2021-22. They lost 37 of their first 45 games and cleaned house, except for a few critical pieces, such as center Nick Suzuki and winger Cole Caufield. 

Every move since has been about asset accumulation. That's how Montreal wound up with the 16th overall selection, which initially belonged to Calgary. A convoluted trade in 2022 to take on the contract of a then-struggling Sean Monahan ultimately landed Montreal an extra first-round pick that they used Friday. 

In a draft that isn't considered elite and already has more prospects than they can use, there's very little to gain from the Canadiens hanging onto these picks. For Montreal, the rebuild is over. The Canadiens marshalled a quantity of assets that were not essential to their future and turned them into a potential game-changer.

Dobson is not without flaws in his game. He's coming off his worst offensive season (39 points in 71 games) in a full season of work since entering the NHL. The Islanders' power play cratered under Dobson's quarterbacking, finishing 31st in the league. He finished with 11 power-play assists, his fewest since the 56-game season in 2021. 

The assets are less of a risk than the eight-year contract Montreal acquired as part of a sign-and-trade. The Islanders, as the only team that could offer him an eight-year deal, facilitated this extra year to keep Dobson's cap hit a little smaller for Montreal and extract extra value.

Islanders grade: A-

The Islanders extracted two first-round picks and a young winger with a clear NHL future for an unsigned defenseman coming off his worst season since the league returned to an 82-game schedule. They plateaued; therefore, change was imperative. 

The Isles now own three picks in the first round and have the ammunition needed if they want to trade up and secure a pick high enough to draft Long Island-born James Hagens. 

New York may not be admitting it's a full-blown rebuild. It may not necessarily look like the types of rebuilds undergone by San Jose and Chicago. But between the firing of former GM Lou Lamoriello and now the trade of one of the franchise's best recent home-grown players, the message is clear: the last few seasons in the post-Barry Trotz era have not been good enough for a once proud franchise that hasn't made the Stanley Cup Finals in 41 years. 

The only negative of this trade is that the Islanders dealt a high-end NHL top-four defenseman for futures, which are notoriously difficult to develop into actual NHL talent. But, on value alone, this is a win. As a clear indication that the franchise needed a change of direction, it's an even larger win. 

The NHL Draft's first round begins Friday, June 27, at 7 p.m., on ESPN and ESPN+. The second through seventh rounds are Saturday at noon ET on NHL Network and ESPN+.