Canadiens Sign Jared Davidson, Hunter McKown To Two-Way Contracts
The Montreal Canadiens have announced the signings of two forwards, Jared Davidson and Hunter McKown, to one-year, two-way contracts, according to the team’s website.
Davidson, the 24-year-old, earned ten games with the Canadiens, logging an assist in 2025-26 after a strong start to his season in the minor leagues. The majority of his season was spent in Laval with the Rockets, Montreal’s affiliate in the AHL, where he registered 16 goals for 25 points in 53 games. The Edmonton native was originally a fifth-round pick selected at 130th overall in 2022 and was a member of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, where he won a WHL championship in 2023 before his first contract with the Habs.
He’s considered to be a hard-working, physical forward who has improved his skating, which could help him further carve out a bottom-six NHL role if the opportunity presents in Montreal.
McKown, the 23-year-old, was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets organization last year but has not seen NHL time since the 2022-23 season, when he was 20, where he logged 2 assists in 12 games. McKown has been with the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, where he scored 25 points last season in 63 games played. The San Jose native will play on his third NHL contract, with his last deal paying him $800K in 2025-26 and before that, a three-year, entry-level contract making $950K annually. McKown was undrafted out of Colorado College in the NCAA.
He is known as a player who can play strong defensively as a center, as a formidable in-zone presence, helping his defense and wingers be able to break out in transition.
Isac Lundestrom Undergoes Achilles Surgery
July 19: Lundestrom has undergone successful surgery, relays Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers (Twitter link). The belief is that he should be able to return in November, meaning the injury was the better-case scenario of the two. Even so, he’s set to miss around the first six weeks of the season.
July 3: It appears that the Blue Jackets will be without one of their centers when the season gets underway. Isac Lundestrom indicated to David Olsson Jiglund of Norbottens-Kuriren that he suffered an Achilles injury while training.
The extent of the injury is not yet known. While Lundestrom’s interview indicated that he thinks it has ruptured, GM Don Waddell indicated to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link) that there is one test that suggested the forward could return in November while the other is more long-term. Players can take the better part of a year recovering from a torn Achilles and if that’s the case here, Lundestrom could miss the bulk of 2026-27.
This isn’t the first time Lundestrom has suffered an Achilles injury during summer training. The same thing happened to him in 2023, where the injury caused him to miss nearly half the season. Notably, this recent injury is not to the same one that was injured back then.
The 26-year-old played his first season in Columbus last season after signing with them in unrestricted free agency following a non-tender from Anaheim. Lundestrom played in 68 games with the Blue Jackets and was fairly quiet offensively, collecting just four goals and eight assists while averaging 12:23 per night in a predominantly fourth-line role.
Over his eight-year NHL career, Lundestrom has been a regular in the bottom-six between Anaheim and Columbus. He has 405 games at the top level under his belt, tallying 39 goals and 57 assists.
While there’s never a good time for an Achilles injury, the timing could be especially problematic for Lundestrom. He’s entering the final year of his contract, one that carries a $1.3MM cap charge. If it winds up being the worst-case scenario in terms of the extent of the damage, most of his platform year will be spent on injured reserve which would certainly make things more difficult for him next summer.
The Blue Jackets have enough forward and center depth that this injury – be it a short-term or long-term one – shouldn’t necessarily force their hand into trying to make another move to replace him. However, the injury has happened early enough that if Waddell decides to bring in some extra depth, there are still enough options available in free agency to do so.
Blue Jackets Will Match Any Offer Sheet To Fantilli
- With Leo Carlsson’s offer sheet matched and Bedard’s contract now done, the RFA center market shifts to Blue Jackets middleman Adam Fantilli. GM Don Waddell is doing his best to deter an offer sheet from coming to his youngster as he told Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch that they are prepared to match any offer sheet that comes his way. The 21-year-old had 24 goals and 35 assists in 81 games last season, his most productive year yet. They also have over $23MM in cap room, per PuckPedia, although goalie Jet Greaves and center Cole Sillinger both need new deals as well.
Blue Jackets Re-Sign Luke Tuch
According to a team announcement, the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Luke Tuch to a two-year, two-way contract. PuckPedia reported that Tuch will earn an $850K salary in the NHL during the 2025-26 season, and a $900K salary in 2026-27. Additionally, he’ll earn $100K and $110K in the AHL, respectively.
Tuch, 24, is the younger brother of Washington Capitals winger Alex Tuch. Instead of playing for Boston College like his brother, Luke committed to their rivals, the Boston University Terriers, for his collegiate career. That commitment was made after the Montreal Canadiens drafted Tuch with the 47th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft.
It took a few years for Tuch to make much impact in the NCAA. Throughout his first three seasons, the Syracuse, NY native registered 21 goals and 41 points in 82 games with a +15 rating. In his senior season, during the 2023-24 campaign, Tuch had his best year, scoring 10 goals and 30 points in 39 games playing alongside Macklin Celebrini.
Unfortunately, Tuch’s transition to the professional ranks hasn’t gone as smoothly. Becoming a full-time player with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, Tuch has registered only 15 goals and 28 points in 114 games with a +8 rating. Given his tepid production with the Rocket, Tuch became a change-of-scenery candidate this summer.
That’s exactly what happened. In the run-up to the 2026 NHL Draft, the Canadiens traded Tuch to the Blue Jackets for Hunter McKown, who was an undrafted collegiate free agent signing by Columbus. Now, Tuch will have a fresh start to his professional career and will likely play much, if not all, of the 2026-27 season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
Blue Jackets To Loan Sergei Ivanov To KHL
- While it was originally believed that Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Sergei Ivanov, who recently signed an ELC with the team, would be crossing the Atlantic and joining the organization in full next season, that does not appear to be the case. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports Ivanov will be loaned back to his KHL club, SKA St. Petersburg, for one final season before heading to North America next fall. The 22-year-old had a stellar season with St. Petersburg in 2025-26, posting a .928 save percentage in 29 KHL games. He had a .911 save percentage in 38 games backstopping a weak HK Sochi team the year prior.
Hearing Dates Set For Players Who Filed For Arbitration
Salary arbitration hearings are a little more than a week away with a total of 15 players filing for one earlier this month. Ottawa’s Xavier Bourgault has already signed while the other 14 are still without contracts. PuckPedia has received the schedule for hearing dates, which is as follows:
July 20
D Jamie Drysdale, Flyers
F Cole Perfetti, Jets
July 22
F Trevor Zegras, Flyers
July 23
G Jet Greaves, Blue Jackets
July 25
F Connor McMichael, Blues
F Jason Robertson, Stars
July 27
F Cole Sillinger, Blue Jackets
July 28
F Nicholas Robertson, Penguins
July 29
D Braden Schneider, Rangers
D Ronan Seeley, Hurricanes
July 30
F Kirby Dach, Canadiens
F Alex Jefferies, Islanders
August 1
F Peyton Krebs, Sabres
G Akira Schmid, Panthers
Philadelphia will be busy early in the process but that is by choice, as teams can request where their players are scheduled on the arbitration docket. Conversely, teams like Montreal, Florida, and Buffalo likely requested that their players be placed at the back, allowing for more time for negotiations or planning.
A refresher on the arbitration rules:
- A player and team can settle on a deal at any point before the hearing starts.
- Once the hearing has taken place, the arbitration decision must be issued by email within 48 hours of the closing.
- Arbitration awards can only be one or two years in length; players who are in their final year of restricted free agency are only entitled to a one-year term.
- The team decides on the awarded term, as these were all player elections.
- The team can walk away from the arbitration decision if a contract with an average annual value of more than $4.9508MM is Teams have 48 hours to decide if they’ll accept or walk away.
Once a team has had all of its cases settled or awarded, a second buyout window will open up three days later. However, only a player who was on the roster at the trade deadline and has a cap charge of $4MM or more is eligible to be bought out during this 48-hour window.
Blue Jackets Sign Sergei Ivanov
The Columbus Blue Jackets will finally see one of their top goaltending prospects play in the organization. According to a team announcement, the Blue Jackets have signed Sergei Ivanov to a two-year, entry-level contract.
Columbus drafted Ivanov with the 138th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. He was playing for the MHL’s SKA-1946 St. Petersburg at the time, managing a 14-7-4 record in 26 games with a .928 SV% and 2.17 GAA. Despite his elite athleticism already being on display at the time, Ivanov fell in the draft over concerns that he would continue his professional career in Russia long-term.
For the last several years, that’s exactly what he’s done. Now 22 years old, Ivanov has spent the last few years on loan with Admiral Vladivostok, HK Sochi, and SKA St. Petersburg.
Despite his subpar KHL record throughout his career, it has not been his fault. Ivanov has a 34-50-8 record in 108 career games with a stellar .923 SV% and 2.65 GAA.
If Ivanov performs anywhere near as well in the AHL, the Blue Jackets will be happy with their return. Assuming Columbus brings back the same tandem next year, Ivanov will likely begin the 2026-27 campaign with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and will likely be in a backup role to newly signed Pheonix Copley. On the other hand, if things with the Blue Jackets don’t turn out to his liking, Ivanov can wait for his two-year deal to expire, and return back home to Russia.
Blue Jackets Sign Colton White
The Columbus Blue Jackets have added some defensive depth on the free agent market. According to a team announcement, the Blue Jackets have signed Colton White to a two-year, two-way contract.
Shortly after, PuckPedia added more specifics to White’s deal. The 29-year-old blueliner will earn an NHL salary of $850K in year one of the deal, a $900K NHL salary in year two, and $300K in the AHL. It’s a slight bump in pay from the $275K he made last season with the AHL’s Utica Comets.
Outside of a two-year stint in the Anaheim Ducks organization, White has spent much of his professional career with the New Jersey Devils. Still, he’s largely been an AHL talent wherever he plays, and that’s not expected to change with the Blue Jackets.
Still, due to some injury concerns on the Devils, White got more playing time in the NHL last season than he otherwise would have. He finished the 2026-27 season with four assists in 23 games with a +2 rating, averaging 12:15 of ice time per game.
Combined with his one-year stint in Anaheim, White has recorded 14 assists in 107 NHL contests with a -18 rating. In the AHL, beginning with the Binghamton Devils in the 2017-18 campaign, White has registered 21 goals and 98 points in 345 AHL games with a -55 rating and 197 PIMs.
15 Players Elect For Salary Arbitration
The deadline to file for salary arbitration passed at 5 P.M. ET on July 5. 15 players elected to head to arbitartion before then, including the market’s top free agent, Dallas Stars’ winger Jason Robertson. Arbitration hearings will take place between late-July and early-August. Filing for arbitration will restrict players from negotiating contracts with any other team, removing high-value RFAs like Robertson from offer sheet eligibility. Players will have the opportunity to continue negotiating with their current team and could avoid arbitration by reaching a new deal before their hearing occurs. The full list of players who filed for salary arbitration in 2026, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic, is as follows:
F Xavier Bourgault (Ottawa Senators)
F Kirby Dach (Montreal Canadiens)
D Jamie Drysdale (Philadelphia Flyers)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Alex Jefferies (New York Islanders)
F Peyton Krebs (Buffalo Sabres)
F Connor McMichael (St. Louis Blues)
F Cole Perfetti (Winnipeg Jets)
F Jason Robertson (Dallas Stars)
F Nicholas Robertson (Pittsburgh Penguins)
G Akira Schmid (Florida Panthers)
D Braden Schneider (New York Rangers)
D Ronan Seeley (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Cole Sillinger (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Trevor Zegras (Philadelphia Flyers)
Blue Jackets Notes: Marchenko, Restricted Free Agents, Di Iorio
On Wednesday, the Blue Jackets did their best to put out the flaming fire of speculation surrounding Zach Werenski with both the team and player putting out statements to quell the trade talk. Today, GM Don Waddell tried to do the same thing regarding winger Kirill Marchenko, himself generating a lot of speculation amid reports that he may not be interested in staying in Columbus for the long run.
Speaking to reporters (video link), Waddell indicated that he has had discussions with Marchenko’s agent (Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein) and communicated that their top-scoring forward is “going to be a Blue Jacket when the season starts.”
Marchenko has one season left on his contract at a very team-friendly $3.85MM AAV. Next summer, he’ll be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent and one year away from UFA eligibility. Considering he has put up 74 and 67 points over his last two seasons, it’s fair to say that he’s in line for a substantial raise, potentially pushing for around triple his current price tag. Waddell’s comments should take the air out of any trade speculation for the time being but until Marchenko signs an extension, the uncertainty on that front will continue to loom.
Meanwhile, after bringing in some grit via trade and free agency, Waddell mentioned that his next top priority is dealing with his restricted free agents. Columbus has three of significance, goaltender Jet Greaves along with centers Adam Fantilli and Cole Sillinger. Greaves and Sillinger both have arbitration eligibility so they may be the priority in the short term with the filing deadline coming on Sunday.
While offer sheets are unlikely given how infrequently they’re used, Waddell preemptively pointed out they will match anything other teams might try to sign their players to. The GM wouldn’t provide any specifics on when he thought his players would be signed but guaranteed that they’d be under contract before next season begins.
Greaves took the starting job and ran with it last season, posting a 2.60 GAA and a .908 SV% in 55 games, helping keep the Blue Jackets in the playoff hunt until the end of the season. Fantilli, meanwhile, picking up five more points than he had in his sophomore year, finishing up with 24 goals and 35 assists in 89 games. As for Sillinger, he continues to be consistent offensively. Through five NHL seasons, he has produced between 31 and 33 points in four of them; he hit the higher mark in 2025-26 in 81 games.
The Blue Jackets have a little under $21.5MM in cap space as things stand, per PuckPedia. It will take the bulk of that to sign their RFA class but they should be able to comfortably get all three under contract over the coming months.
Lastly, one of their newest prospects will be on the move after the upcoming season. Alexander Di Iorio announced on his Instagram page earlier this week that he will play for Boston University starting in 2027-18. The center was the 94th pick last month out of OHL Sarnia where he had 31 points in 45 games. He’ll remain with the Sting for the upcoming season and then make the jump to college hockey.