The Montreal Canadiens are unofficially done conducting their offseason business, after re-signing restricted-free-agent defenseman Jayden Struble to a two-year, $2.83 million deal on Monday.
Struble a Reliable Depth Piece on Canadiens
Struble, who is projected to lay claim to one of the final roster spots out of training camp and help fill out the defense, had intiallyfiled for arbitration. He had his hearing scheduled for Aug. 3, but the two sides were expected to come to an agreement ahead of time. His previous, entry-level contract, which just expired, paid him $1.74 million ($868,000 cap hit) over two years.
The Montreal Canadiens have their arbitration audience with Jayden Struble scheduled for the 3rd of August.
— Marco D'Amico (@mndamico) July 22, 2025
It's *very* likely that the Canadiens come to terms with Struble prior to that date.
As more of an all-around defenseman, Struble found significant success playing on a pairing with Calder Memorial Trophy-winner Lane Hutson, this past season. In fact, Struble was Hutson’s second-most-common partner. Nevertheless, he played just 14:57 per game, just above Arber Xhekaj, who played the least per game of anyone on the defensive corps, at 14:37.
Xhekaj still got in 70 games to Struble’s 56, which plays into the notion Struble is destined for a depth role, especially following the offseason acquisition of top-pairing-defenseman Noah Dobson. Going the other way in that trade with the New York Islanders was, on top of two first-round picks, forward Emil Heineman, who had also been a RFA. Following his departure, only Struble and goalie Jakub Dobes remained unsigned as RFAs. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes finalized that deal early this month though, leaving a contract for Struble as the only arguable item left on his to-do list.
Related: Predicting Jayden Struble’s Next Contract with the Canadiens
Struble scored two goals and 13 points in 2024-25, enjoying a slight uptick in production relative to the 10 points he scored as a rookie in 2023-24, in the same amount of games. Hughes’ top remaining offseason priority, if one exists at all, is to solidify his second-line-centre spot, which Kirby Dach, who should be healthy in time for next season after suffering a second straight season-ending knee injury, is expected to be given a chance to fill. There are also suggestions that, rather than place it on long-term injured reserve, the Canadiens could trade Carey Price’s contract as it enters the final season of its eight-year term.
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