Canadiens’ Alexandre Carrier Out Two To Four Weeks
Canadiens defenseman Alexandre Carrier will miss two to four weeks with an upper-body injury, the team announced Tuesday. Montreal recalled Adam Engstrom from AHL Laval yesterday to replenish their blue-line depth with Carrier sidelined.
In all likelihood, Carrier’s regular season is over. The Habs’ last game is on April 14, two weeks to the day from today’s announcement. With a playoff berth all but locked up, there’s no need to rush him back for any regular-season action in the hope that he can be ready for Game 1 of the first round. If he’s out closer to four weeks, though, he may not be an option until the elimination-game stage – or even the early second round, if the Canadiens make it there without him.
Carrier logged a full game’s worth of action in his last appearance against the Hurricanes on Sunday, skating 19:05 of ice time with a +1 rating. There was no apparent injury that hobbled him during the game, nor did he ever head to the room.
The 29-year-old has spent the year either as Montreal’s second or third-pairing right-shot option. Outside of their top pairing of Mike Matheson and Noah Dobson, their defense combos have been in a blender all year long.
It’s the penalty kill where the Habs will feel Carrier’s absence the most. A good chunk of his time has come shorthanded, where he forms half of the top unit’s blue line with Matheson and has averaged over three minutes per game this season. The results haven’t been great, though. The Habs allow 10.6 goals per 60 minutes when Carrier is on the ice shorthanded, the highest figure among their four regular penalty killers.
On the whole, Carrier has put up a 7-15–22 scoring line with a +2 rating in 77 outings. That’s right around the offense he produced for the majority of last season after the Canadiens swapped Justin Barron to the Predators for him in December. He’s settling in around that 25-point pace for a career average, and he hasn’t varied from it too much over the past three years.
The Habs are carrying seven healthy defensemen with Engstrom’s recall, but, due to forwards Josh Anderson, Kirby Dach, and Alexandre Texier being unavailable, dressed Arber Xhekaj as a winger in Sunday’s win over the Hurricanes. If Anderson and Texier, who are both day-to-day, still can’t go tonight against the Lightning, Xhekaj will likely suit up on the fourth line again, while the left-shot Engstrom enters the lineup on his off side to replace Carrier.
Montreal Canadiens Recall Adam Engstrom
The Montreal Canadiens have added some defensive depth to the roster for the remaining part of their regular-season schedule. According to a team announcement, the Canadiens have recalled Adam Engstrom from the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
Engstrom, 22, has already played in multiple games with Montreal this year over a pair of call-ups earlier in the season. The Jarna, Sweden native is still looking for his first NHL point after 11 games, but does carry a +3 rating and a 50.7% CorsiFor at even strength.
Obviously, teams don’t draft players with the expectation that they won’t contribute at the NHL level someday, but Engstrom has played above his draft status for some time. The Canadiens selected him with the 92nd overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft after registering eight goals and 28 points in 45 games in the J20 Nationell league in Sweden.
After a pair of productive seasons in the SHL with Rögle BK, Engstrom immigrated to North America for the 2024-25 campaign to continue his professional career. This season, he has taken his offensive game to a completely different level with the Rocket, scoring 10 goals and 34 points in 45 games.
Unfortunately, he suffered an upper-body injury in late February, which kept him out of action for a few weeks. Still, he didn’t miss a beat upon his return, and now has earned another call-up with Montreal to close out their 2025-26 campaign.
Canadiens, Owen Protz Agree To Entry-Level Deal
The Canadiens announced they’ve agreed to terms with defense prospect Owen Protz on a three-year, entry-level contract. It’ll kick in next season. PuckPedia reports it carries a $1.004MM cap hit with the following breakdown:
| Year | NHL salary | Signing bonus | Potential performance bonuses | Minors salary |
| 2026-27 | $850K | $102K | $68K | $85K |
| 2027-28 | $900K | $105K | $45K | $85K |
| 2028-29 | $950K | $105K | none | $85K |
Protz, 20, was a fourth-round pick in 2024 out of the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, where he’s remained ever since to wrap up his junior career. Montreal would have lost his signing rights if they waited until after June 1 to get a deal done.
On a Montreal defense corps dominated by offensive-minded threats like Noah Dobson and Lane Hutson, Protz hopes to develop into a depth piece who can serve as a much more physically involved complement. The 6’2″, 207-lb lefty does have some two-way juice in his game that should help him avoid becoming a complete offensive liability if he reaches the top level, but he’s a brutal, intelligent checker first and foremost, who’s quite skilled at keeping play to the perimeter.
His lack of dynamacity means he doesn’t stick out too much in the Habs’ still-deep pool, but it’s worth noting they only have two non-roster left-shot options signed through next season – Adam Engstrom and Luke Mittelstadt. He should be able to jump into a bottom-pairing role with AHL Laval, get some reps on the penalty kill, and begin to work his way up the depth chart. He has until 2029 before the Habs must make their first decision on whether to tender him a qualifying offer and keep him around.
The Ottawa native wraps up his time in the OHL with a 13-61–74 scoring line in 198 games with 190 penalty minutes and a +60 rating. That includes 23 points and a career-best +45 mark in 60 games for the Bulldogs this year.
Projecting Patrik Laine’s Future After This Season
Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is headed for free agency this summer. Despite a limited free agent market, he isn’t expected to attract much interest after another season marred by injuries.
Laine has only played five games this season, with just one assist, and until the trade deadline, he was a frequent topic of trade rumors as Montreal hoped to clear salary. Reports indicate he was mentioned in discussions with both the Maple Leafs and Flyers.
Laine hasn’t been a good fit with the Canadiens, and as summer approaches, it’s almost certain he will be wearing a different NHL jersey next season, likely at a cap hit significantly lower than his current $8.7MM salary. The question remains whether NHL teams will be interested and whether a good fit exists for the 2016 second overall pick.
Despite the injuries and inconsistencies that have challenged Laine’s career over the past half-decade, his shot remains among the best in the NHL, especially from long range, where he continues to be an elite scorer even if he hasn’t displayed his full skill set this year. Last season, Laine scored 20 goals in just 52 games, and he still likely projects as a 20- to 25-goal scorer despite limitations in nearly every other aspect of his game.
But that is the core issue with Laine: he is limited in what he can do, and his analytics away from the puck are appalling. This will cause many NHL teams to hesitate before considering him a viable free-agent target.
Laine has long been a liability in puck possession, and it wasn’t any better last season, when he was mainly used in an offensive role but still hindered his teammates’ possession. Given his health concerns, especially regarding his skating and agility, it’s unlikely these metrics will improve. This means any team that acquires Laine will need to isolate and shelter him, which is acceptable if he is earning close to the league minimum on a one-year deal.
When considering comparables, there aren’t many. In fact, this year, AFP Analytics can’t even project Laine’s potential contract for the 2026-27 season because there isn’t enough information available on Laine, which makes sense given that he’s only played five games this season.
A potential comparison who is by no means an exact match would be Anthony Mantha of the Penguins, who is currently earning $2.5MM on a one-year “prove it” deal he signed last summer. Mantha had a consistent track record of scoring 20 goals before last season, but he suffered a season-ending ACL injury and missed most of the year with the Calgary Flames. After posting just seven points in 13 games with Calgary, the 31-year-old bet on himself last summer, and it appears to be paying off as he looks set to be one of the top UFAs available this summer, which should give him a chance at a long-term contract in the coming years.
Although Mantha and Laine are very different players, there aren’t many better comparisons, but Jeff Skinner provides another example of what free agency could mean for Laine. Skinner has spent the last two seasons signing one-year, $3MM contracts as a UFA. However, like Mantha, he is over 30, at 33. Similar to Laine, Skinner is a fairly one-dimensional offensive player who can score goals but does little else, especially away from the puck, where he’s not exactly a Selke Trophy candidate.
Looking at Mantha and Skinner as reasonable comparables, since both are wingers, have notable flaws in their games, and can score, what can Laine expect in free agency? Mantha received a one-year, $2.5MM deal last summer, while Skinner signed a one-year, $3MM contract with San Jose.
Laine has several factors that position him above Mantha and Skinner. Laine was the second overall pick; he’s three years younger than Mantha was during his recent free agency and five years younger than Skinner. There’s a solid argument that Laine is a purer goal scorer than both Mantha and Skinner, which is mainly shown by his NHL career goal numbers. All these points suggest that Laine deserves a larger payday than both Mantha and Skinner.
But Mantha is arguably a more complete player than Laine, and Skinner has a longer track record of scoring goals than Laine. Those factors will work against Laine, but overall, he probably deserves a more substantial one-year contract than Mantha or Skinner received last summer. That said, this is a very thin free-agent crop, and teams will be desperate on July 1st to add scoring, which could make Laine appealing to more than one team despite the warts on his resume.
Where Laine ends up remains uncertain, but some contending teams facing the salary cap hurdle would likely be interested in acquiring a motivated, scoring forward at a low cost. Colorado and Dallas come to mind as possible destinations, as do the Penguins, who may lose Mantha to free agency unless they can negotiate a deal. In any case, Laine desperately needs to find a suitable fit if he wants to secure another lucrative NHL contract.
David Reinbacher Changes Agents
- Earlier this week, Quartexx Hockey announced (Twitter link) that they have signed Canadiens prospect David Reinbacher as a client. The blueliner was the fifth overall pick back in 2023 and is still looking to make his NHL debut. Previously represented by Maloney & Thompson Sports Management, the 21-year-old has 23 points in 49 games with AHL Laval this season. The move isn’t in anticipation of contract talks as Reinbacher still has two years left on his entry-level contract after this one.
Canadiens’ Kirby Dach Out Two To Four Weeks
The Canadiens will be without forward Kirby Dach for two to four weeks due to an upper-body injury, the team announced. That could potentially end his regular season, which ends April 14, but he should be an option at some point during the first round in the likely event Montreal secures its second straight playoff berth.
Dach only saw just over a minute of ice time in Sunday’s loss to the Ducks before taking a hard hit along the boards from Anaheim winger Jeffrey Viel. He didn’t return after that.
The 25-year-old has a laundry list of recent injuries, but most of them have been of the lower-body variety. He missed over 31 games earlier this season due to a fractured foot, and lost nearly the entirety of the 2023-24 season and the last several weeks of 2024-25 with ACL and MCL tears in his right knee. Dach has not had a fully healthy season in his seven-year NHL career and hasn’t missed under 10 games in a season since his rookie year.
That has contributed to the 2019 third overall pick, whom the Habs hoped could be a top-six staple when they acquired him from the Blackhawks in 2022, losing a ton of momentum in his development. He didn’t look like the same player at all after his ACL/MCL surgery in 2023, only notching 10 goals and 22 points in 57 games last year with a -29 rating before going under the knife again.
Dach’s two-way impacts have improved significantly this season, posting a career-best 52.0% expected goals share at even strength. That’s come in reduced ice time, though, down to 13:48 per game. He’s still generating as many shot attempts as he did on a nightly basis last season in nearly two fewer minutes of deployment while increasing his points per game, recording an 8-6–14 scoring line in 32 games.
He may not be the top-six impact piece they hoped, but he’s been a valuable complementary piece when healthy this season who can slot in virtually anywhere in Montreal’s top nine. In the interim, either Alexandre Texier or Joe Veleno will be set for a return to the lineup after sitting in the press box for the Anaheim game.
Kirby Dach Leaves Due To Injury
A potentially major storyline has emerged tonight as Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl left tonight against Nashville, noted by Ryan Rishaug of TSN. The team has still yet to confirm his status, but he did not return to start the second or third period.
Early in the game Draisaitl was hit into the Predators’ bench. He stayed on his feet, but it caused a hard impact in the vulnerable lower back area. It was a routine check which Calgary native Ozzy Wiesblatt is expected to finish in his fourth line role, but naturally it was met with retaliation from Edmonton.
The 30-year-old returned momentarily, but didn’t seem right, and did not come back again, likely ending his night after just 3:12. Even in the limited time, Draisaitl buried a power play tally. It’s the norm against the Predators, as he has an unbelievable 29 goals in 31 career games against the club in gold.
Post game updates on the superstar will be watched urgently. With 96 points in 64 games, it hardly requires much analysis to speak on Draisaitl’s importance to Edmonton. In a season where things haven’t come easily for the group, he and Connor McDavid are forced to drive even more offense than normal to overcome their 231 goals surrendered; third worse in the league.
Edmonton is back in action Tuesday hosting San Jose. The team is third in the Pacific, likely to make the playoffs but still not where the back-to-back runners up would like to be by mid-March. If Draisaitl has to miss any time, their odds may swing dramatically.
Elsewhere across the league:
- The Montreal Canadiens shared mid-game that Kirby Dach would not return due to an upper-body injury. Dach absorbed a hard hit from Anaheim grinder Jeffrey Viel with an impact concentrated in the shoulder area. The 25-year-old has had to deal with various injuries throughout his Habs tenure, as he underwent knee surgery last year, along with a fractured foot last November. Dach has only managed 31 games in 2025-26, where he’s put up 14 points. A former third overall pick, he’s is still chasing his 2022-23 Canadiens debut, breaking out with 38 points in 58 games. Unfortunately it’s starting to look like Dach won’t flourish as a top six center for the storied franchise, but based on all the health issues, it’s hard to be critical. As long as Dach has avoided another serious injury, he will likely return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20 as a Blackhawks rookie.
- Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has returned tonight against Nashville, per the team. The 32-year-old missed last game against St. Louis due to personal reasons, the team falling in overtime without their longest tenured player. Nugent-Hopkins has missed 10 games this year, otherwise posting 50 points in 57 games, a nice improvement from last year’s 49 in total. He has been durable over the past several seasons, as 2025-26 will mark the first time he’s played in under 78 regular season games since 2021-22. Nugent-Hopkins is back on the third line, flanking center Jason Dickinson as Edmonton works to balance their attack.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Dillan Bentley To AHL Deal
- The Laval Rocket, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, signed NCAA free agent Dillan Bentley to a two-year, one-way AHL contract that runs through the 2027-28 season. Bentley will join Laval on a tryout for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. Bentley, 24, joins the pro ranks after a four-year college career at UMass-Lowell. He was an alternate captain for the team this season, scoring 14 goals and 25 points in 33 games. He formerly served as the captain of his junior team in the NAHL. The signing returns the Canadiens to some familiar territory. This isn’t the first time the team’s management group, which has deep roots in the state of Massachusetts, has signed a top player out of Lowell; the Canadiens signed Lowell captain Lucas Condotta as an NCAA free agent in 2022. Condotta now serves as the Rocket’s captain.
Senators Acquire Riley Kidney From Canadiens
The Ottawa Senators completed a minor-league trade with the Montreal Canadiens, acquiring center Riley Kidney in exchange for center Jake Chiasson and goaltender Hunter Shepard per PuckPedia. The move will bolster the Laval Rocket with two AHL veterans ahead of a playoff run, while adding another young forward to the Belleville Senators with 14 games left in the regular season.
Kidney, 23, was a star scorer across four seasons in the QMJHL. He debuted with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the 2019-20 season after being drafted with the 11th-overall pick in that year’s QMJHL Entry Draft. Kindey quickly translated to the junior flight and scored five goals and 33 points in 59 games as a rookie. His passing ability stood out early, highlighted by an appearance at the 2019 World U17 Hockey Challenge, where Kidney’s five points in six games ranked above Team Canada teamamtes Mason McTavish and Dylan Guenther.
Kidney moved into his age-18 season with momenutm. He scored nine points in the first nine games of the season – before the QMJHL season was suspended from late-November to mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He scored four points in his second game back from the pause and finished the year with 38 points in 33 games. That was enough to earn convince Montreal to draft Kidney in the 2021 second-round pick. He rewarded that selection by notching 100 points in 66 games of the QMJHL’s return to a full schedule in 2021-22. Kidney repeated that feat in 2022-23, combining for 110 points in 60 games between the Titan and the Gaitneau Olympiques.
Despite high-scoring junior seasons, the nimble passer hasn’t found his scoring touch in the pros just yet. He racked up 37 points in 117 games with Laval between 2023 and 2025, slim enough to earn a demotion to the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions this season. Kidney has scored 11 goals and 33 points in 46 games with the Lions, one point shy of the team lead. Now, he could find space in the bottom-six of a Belleville squad that has promoted Arthur Kaliyev, Xavier Bourgault, and Stephen Halliday into NHL stints this season.
Laval will add Chiasson and Shepard to round out the lineup following Kidney’s move and Jacob Fowler‘s call-up to the NHL. Chiasson scored one point in 20 AHL games and eight points in 14 ECHL games. Shepard has notched six wins and a .885 save percentage in 15 AHL games, and made 12 saves on 14 shots in a mid-game appearance with Ottawa in January. Shepard should assume the backup role behind Kaapo Kahkonen, though his addition could indicate that Fowler is set for an extended stint at the top level. He stopped 32 of 34 shots in his return to NHL action on Wednesday.
Canadiens Sign Luke Mittelstadt To Entry-Level Deal
The Canadiens announced they’ve signed 23-year-old defender Luke Mittelstadt to a two-year, entry-level contract starting next season. He’ll finish out the year with AHL Laval on a minor-league contract.
The Habs took Mittelstadt in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. He had already been passed over twice and was coming off his freshman season at the University of Minnesota at the time of his selection.
After spending a full four years with the Golden Gophers, the younger brother of Bruins center Casey Mittelstadt will turn pro with the club that drafted him. He was the top name on an absolutely gutted Minnesota defense corps this season, finishing fifth on the team in scoring with a 2-19–21 line in 32 games with a -10 rating. The 5’11” lefty finishes his collegiate career with 11 goals, 80 points, and a +46 rating in 152 games.
He’s had some good seasons as an undersized but adept two-way defender. In a prospect pool as deep as Montreal’s, though, the pathway for him to break through is slight. He doesn’t feature in top-10 or top-15 rankings anywhere, and his long-term NHL future is likely that of a fringe call-up option.
Mittelstadt will hit restricted free agency after the 2027-28 campaign. Montreal now has 29 standard contracts on its books for next year.