After playing out the final season of his entry-level contract in 2024-25, RFA defenseman William Trudeau has re-upped with the Canadiens for another season, the team announced. His two-way deal is worth $775K in the NHL and $90K in the AHL with a $110K guarantee, per PuckPedia.
Trudeau, who was a fourth-round pick by Montreal in 2021, turned pro following his post-draft season with the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. The 6’1″, 205-lb lefty played out his three-year entry-level contract exclusively with the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
He’s yet to make his NHL debut, and that’s unlikely to change over the course of his fresh two-way commitment. He has 20 goals, 50 assists, and 70 points with a +16 rating in 198 career games for the Rocket, but his 19 points last year were a career low. While a fine two-way threat at the minor-league level, it remains to be seen if he can excel in any given area well enough to make an impact worthy of an NHL call-up.
Like Sean Farrell before him, Trudeau takes a deal that carries a lower NHL salary but a higher guarantee than his qualifying offer would have provided. The 22-year-old will be a restricted free agent again next summer.
With Trudeau signed, only Jakub Dobes and Jayden Struble remain among the unsigned RFAs in Montreal. The club has 40 of the maximum 50 contracts on their books for 2025-26.