No doubt, the Montreal Canadiens needed to fill a space on the right side on defense. They didn’t really need a (or, for that matter, the) Noah Dobson, though. All things taken into account after his acquisition ahead of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, no one in or around the Habs organization should be complaining.
In that sense, Dobson is more a luxury (than a need). And the price general manager Kent Hughes paid the New York Islanders to acquire him, Nos. 16 and 17 overall along with bottom-six-forward Emil Heineman, is in line with that assessment. It’s also entirely justifiable from the Canadiens’ perspective under the circumstances.
Dobson Gets New Contract with Trade to Canadiens
The new eight-year, $76 million contract that comes with Dobson is another matter entirely, as the $9.5 million cap hit now represents the highest currently on the Canadiens (excluding Carey Price, who’s presumably headed to long-term injured reserve), and it’s hard to see Dobson becoming the most valuable player in the organization. However, Dobson is a 25-year-old right-handed defenseman, coming off a three-year deal in which he averaged 56.8 points per 82-game season, including 2023-24 when he scored a career-high 70. If he’s able to consistently replicate that level of production in the future, it arguably becomes worth it.
Really goes to show you how bad Buffalo wanted current roster pieces and the value they (and the league) have in right-shot D at this time.
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) June 26, 2025
What a solid deal for Utah, along with a contract extension to boot. https://t.co/9on0y7ImhP
You may not necessarily be able to count on that happening, at least not on the regular. After all, he dropped to 39 points (71 games) in 2024-25. However, in a world where Mike Matheson scored 62 points two seasons ago and rookie Lane Hutson just one-upped him with a record-setting 66-point campaign to win the Calder Memorial Trophy, it’s definitely possible on what is by all appearances turning into a high-octane offensive powerhouse.
Related: Canadiens Rookie Hutson Having Season for the Record Books
Remember, this was Hughes’ vision for the team when he first got hired. He said, “In a perfect world, we would be an offensive-minded hockey club.” And, while you need offensive talent up front, you tend to create offense in transition from the back end. That’s something retiring David Savard, a player whose contract Hughes inherited, didn’t really have in his toolkit as a primarily stay-at-home presence. So, with a spot opening up on defense on Savard’s right side, you can see where Hughes was going with this move.
True, you do need defensive awareness. The Canadiens get that in the likes of Kaiden Guhle and Alexandre Carrier, without sacrificing mobility up and down the ice. The same theoretically goes for 2023 fifth-overall-pick David Reinbacher, who the Habs no longer have to rush (not that they would have), to fill the open space on the right, especially if they continue to play the lefthanded Hutson on his off side, like they did in the playoffs.
Hughes Makes Another Trade at the Draft
That may present issues in the sense Dobson is realistically a top-pairing defenseman on any team. However, that’s an issue for training camp, if not later this offseason, if he envisions giving his defense an even bigger makeover. Hughes once again showed he’s unafraid of pulling the trigger on a big deal, especially at the Draft. In 2023, after trading for Kirby Dach almost one exact year earlier, he acquired Alex Newhook in a similar trade.
Hughes dealt minor-leaguer Gianni Fairbrother, No. 31 overall (Mikhail Gulyayev) and No. 37 (Ethan Gauthier) to the Colorado Avalanche for Newhook, who, if not the second-line centre the Canadiens currently need, is nevertheless a legitimate top-nine forward. The jury is still out on when Gulyayev develops into an NHL defenseman, although he is widely considered a talented prospect. Gauthier is a bit of mixed bag. Some scouting reports suggest the winger is likelier to develop into more of a bottom-six forward at this juncture.
In Newhook then, Hughes traded for a relatively established forward for a whole lot of unknown. In Dobson now, he’s getting a star defenseman entering his prime for two prospects who may or may not pan out, the Islanders ultimately selecting right-winger Victor Eklund and left-handed defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson with the picks. Putting aside the fact that neither would have addressed the Canadiens’ arguable top positional needs heading into the Draft (and Dobson does), Hughes acquired a relative certainty.
Dobson More Valuable to Canadiens than Picks
Even if Hughes had used the pick on a right-handed defenseman, what would have been his end game? That the hypothetical mid-first-round pick develop into someone like Dobson? The chances of that happening are low. The Islanders should be so lucky they get that kind of value out of Aitcheson, with Sportsnet’s analysis crew on the telecast suggesting at the time of the pick that, despite his offensive numbers with the Barrie Colts, he will more realistically develop into a shutdown defenseman at the NHL level.
That’s not a knock on the prospect or even necessarily the Islanders. New Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche is putting his stamp on the team, conceivably tearing it down to start fresh. That’s kind of what Hughes started to do when he first got hired in 2022. Three-plus years later, the Canadiens are showing signs of turning into a contender upon having just made the playoffs for the first time since 2021. With one of the top prospect pools in the NHL, it’s understandable that the Canadiens decided to trade the picks for immediate help.
In fact, all signs point to the Canadiens’ window opening already. So, any sense of buyer’s remorse here is unjustified. The Habs and Isles are two teams who seem to be headed in different directions (by design). Dobson is a player who in principle can get the Habs through.
