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Canadiens’ Gustav Lindström Signs Five-Year Contract In SHL

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Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League has signed Canadiens pending RFA defenseman Gustav Lindström to a five-year deal, the club announced. He’s now set to play in his home country through the 2029-30 season.

Lindström, a depth piece on the Red Wings’ blue line after they drafted him in the second round in 2017, was first picked up by Montreal ahead of the 2023-24 season in exchange for Jeff Petry. He was claimed off waivers by the Ducks mid-season, but after Anaheim didn’t issue him a qualifying offer, he returned to Montreal as a UFA signing at the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign.

The Canadiens waived Lindström to begin the year, and that was his most recent transaction. He spent the entire season in the minors for the first time since arriving in North America in 2019, recording a 4-7–11 scoring line with 28 PIMs and a +18 rating in 42 games for AHL Laval. Understandably, he’ll opt for more opportunity overseas in a more familiar environment.

Montreal can still issue Lindström a qualifying offer to retain his signing rights, but doing so would only keep him on their reserve list through June 30, 2026. Unless he desires an NHL return one year into his multi-year commitment to Djurgården, doing so would only take up a reserve list spot unnecessarily. It’s more likely they’ll non-tender him and let his exclusive NHL signing rights lapse.

The 6’2″ Lindström heads back home after posting a 5-30–35 scoring line with a -21 rating in 174 NHL games for Anaheim, Detroit, and Montreal between 2019-20 and 2023-24. He averaged 15:34 per game during his tenure with the three clubs.

Lindström’s only previous SHL experience came with Frölunda HC in the 2018-19 campaign, when he posted six points and a minus-five rating in 40 games while playing a depth role on the league’s championship club that year. He now joins a Djurgårdens team fresh off promotion following three years in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. He’s the second pending NHL RFA they’ve picked up in the last few weeks, joining Predators winger Jesse Ylönen.

Offseason Checklist: Montreal Canadiens

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The offseason has arrived for all but two teams now with the playoffs nearing an end.  Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Montreal.

After three straight seasons of being near the basement in the standings, the expectation was that the Canadiens would take a step forward in 2024-25.  Instead, they may have taken more of a jump than expected as they ultimately secured the final playoff spot in the East before losing in five to Washington in the first round.  Now, GM Kent Hughes has some work to do this summer to help his young group take another step forward next season or at least to keep them in the middle of the pack once more.

Move Price’s Contract

While it might seem odd to start this piece with a discussion of a player who hasn’t played since 2022, Carey Price has been making an impact on this group since then and his contract hasn’t helped things.  He has been on LTIR for the last three years with a knee injury that he won’t be able to return from.  The Canadiens have had to dip into using LTIR every season since then.

When the team wasn’t too worried about wins and losses as they went through the tougher early stages of their rebuild, this wasn’t too big of a deal.  They had enough flexibility to recall players when needed and although there were bonus overage penalties, it didn’t matter much.  But now they enter next season with the second-highest carryover penalty in the league at over $1.75MM per PuckPedia and it’s a number that could go higher for 2025-26 depending on bonuses reached.

If Montreal can offload Price’s contract to a team looking to just get over the spending floor as has happened in the past with long-term LTIR players, the Canadiens could go back to banking in-season cap space and eliminate the potential for a carryover penalty.  It would also increase their regular spending room from around $8MM to $18MM, giving Hughes the ability to try to add a piece or two without having to worry about triggering going into LTIR once more.

But this is one of those files that needs to be figured out early and dealt with later.  Price has a $5.5MM signing bonus due that teams are going to want the Canadiens to pay.  But unlike most bonuses which are paid on July 1st, his is owed on September 1st.  After that, he has a $2MM base salary that insurance will cover the bulk of, making a trade much more palatable at that time.

That said, in order to add when most of the free agent signings and trades are made, Montreal would need to know by then if they have a deal in place to help shape their player movement.  Basically, they’ll be looking to reach an agreement on a deal in principle and then shelve it for at least two months.  If a move is agreed on, that would make it one of the first things they do this offseason and likely their last at the same time.

Work On Hutson Extension

Last summer, Montreal worked quickly to get contract extensions done with two of its core players, signing winger Juraj Slafkovsky (eight years, $7.6MM AAV) and defenseman Kaiden Guhle (six years, $5.55MM AAV).  In doing so, they kept their internal cap intact with both players signing for less than team captain Nick Suzuki ($7.875MM AAV).  Accomplishing that with their extension-eligible core piece this summer will be trickier with defenseman Lane Hutson eligible for a new contract as of July 1st.

Hutson’s first full NHL season was certainly a strong one.  He played in all 82 games and recorded six goals and 60 assists while logging a little under 23 minutes a night of ice time.  With 66 points, he finished tied with Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey for sixth in that category among blueliners league-wide.  In assists, he was tied with Quinn Hughes for second, only behind Cale Makar.  These are some of the top offensive blueliners in the league, players who received pretty substantial second contracts.  Meanwhile, he also led all NHL rookies in points, three ahead of Matvei Michkov and Macklin Celebrini.

There are some recent comparables to work with here.  Brock Faber (eight years, $8.5MM) and Owen Power (seven years, $8.35MM) come to mind while the second contracts to Makar (six years, $9MM) and Hughes (seven years, $7.85MM), while older, are probably worth noting as well.  The cap hit percentage of those deals ranges from 8.9% to 11%.  Knowing that the projected Upper Limit of the Salary Cap for 2026-27 is $104MM, that would approximate Hutson’s price tag between $9.256MM and $11.44MM.

Is that a price Montreal is willing to pay right now?  Would they be better waiting and seeing how things go next season?  It’s worth noting he won’t be eligible for an offer sheet which at least mitigates a bit of the risk of waiting.  Or, is Hughes able to find a lower-cost price tag that both sides are comfortable with now?

Add Second Center

Finding a reliable second-line center has been an issue for Montreal for several years now, dating back to before the current management regime.  And while Hughes has made a few attempts to solve that issue, none have managed to stick just yet.

First, Kirby Dach was brought in from Chicago with the hopes that a change of scenery could help him live up to his high draft billing.  Instead, he has dealt with significant injuries in all three years, missing more games than he has played in.  Alex Newhook was also acquired but he hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time spot down the middle yet and hasn’t produced enough to be a full-timer in the top six.  They also had Sean Monahan for a stretch but used him as a trade chip, acquiring a first-round pick to take him on and then dealt him for a first-round pick the following season.  While that was a tidy piece of business, it means that second pivot is still needed.

Internally, Jake Evans is more of a checker while prospects Oliver Kapanen and Owen Beck aren’t going to be ready to play in a top-six role next season, at least at the NHL level.  And while they have hopes that Dach can bounce back, depending on a healthy and productive season shouldn’t be their preferred option at this point; they’d be wise to try to address this externally.

The free agent market has several veterans that could fill a short-term stopgap type of role, including Matt Duchene, Mikael Granlund, John Tavares, and Claude Giroux if he doesn’t re-sign with Ottawa.  They’d undoubtedly inquire on Sam Bennett if he makes it to free agency as well.  Failing that, Hughes will have to turn to trying to fill that spot via the trade route once again.

Add Veteran Right-Shot Defenseman

David Savard wasted little time ending any speculation about his future plans when he announced before the playoffs that he’d be retiring.  That opens up one spot on Montreal’s back end to fill.  Notably, his departure means that midseason acquisition Alexandre Carrier is the only right-shot defender on their roster at the moment.  While teams can get away with having two instead of three, only having one is a little more difficult to navigate.

It’s worth noting that Montreal’s top two defensive prospects, David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux, are both right-shot players.  Mailloux saw a handful of NHL games this season while Reinbacher was injured for most of it but is playing a big role with AHL Laval in the playoffs.  It’s possible that management envisions one of them filling in Savard’s role and leaving it at that.

However, that would mean going with just two defensemen above the age of 25 to start next season.  That’s fine when you’re rebuilding but a lot riskier when you’re trying to push for a playoff spot.  Accordingly, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find a short-term veteran who could fill a similar role to Savard while also hedging against Mailloux and Reinbacher needing more development time.  Ideally, that player would be a strong penalty killer as Savard logged more than three minutes per game shorthanded this season.

It’s not a great UFA class for right-shot, low-term veterans so this is also something they may want to look at the trade market for if they think one of Mailloux or Reinbacher will be ready soon.  Alternatively, they can go for someone on a two-year or a three-year deal and shuffle things around if and when the youngsters are ready.  Regardless of what route they take, adding at least a short-term stopgap on the right side of the back end is something they should be looking to do.

Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

Hutson's Extension Might Not Get Done Right Away This Summer

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  • While Lane Hutson will be eligible for a contract extension this summer, Arpon Basu of The Athletic posits (subscription link) that this file might not get done right away. The Canadiens have tried to keep their core players signing below captain Nick Suzuki’s $7.875MM but Hutson’s rookie year, his comparable players, plus the big increases coming in the salary cap will make that difficult.  It’s possible Montreal opts for a shorter-term pact to keep the AAV lower but it could also make sense to see what happens next year and decide from there.  Hutson, a Calder Trophy finalist, had six goals and 60 assists in 82 games this season.

Ben Merrill Commits To Boston University

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  • A Montreal Canadiens prospect is on the move at the junior level. Forward Ben Merrill shared on his Instagram that he’s committed to Boston University for the 2025-26 NCAA season. The former 2024 sixth-round selection scored 15 goals and 23 points in 50 games for the BCHL’s Penticton Vees this past year.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Laurent Dauphin Remains In Canadiens Organization On Two-Year AHL Deal

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Longtime farmhand Laurent Dauphin will remain with the Canadiens organization on a two-year contract with AHL Laval, the team announced. He’s still technically an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any NHL team, but if all goes to plan, the former Habs and Coyotes center will continue to provide a veteran presence to play with Montreal’s minor-league prospects.

Dauphin, 30, hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since making 21 appearances with Arizona in the 2022-23 campaign. He went to Switzerland the following year and, after a nice year with HC Ambri-Piotta, returned to North America on a minor-league deal with Laval for 2024-25.

Historically a strong offensive presence in the minors, Dauphin picked up where he left off in his return. He finished second on the Rocket in scoring with 26-30–56 in 63 games, along with a team-high +25 rating.

Extending on an AHL deal means Dauphin remains ineligible for a call-up to the Montreal roster, although they can easily sign him to a two-way deal if they want him up. He’ll need to clear waivers to return to Laval after they do so, however.

A 2013 second-round pick by Phoenix, Dauphin has spent most of his professional career with the now-defunct Coyotes franchise. His one season with NHL appearances in Montreal (2021-22) was the best of his career, though, making a career-high 38 appearances for the Habs in a depth role while scoring four goals and 12 points.

Connor Hughes Signs In Switzerland, Laval Signs Protz To ATO

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  • Pending Canadiens UFA Connor Hughes took himself off the open market early. The goaltender is heading back to Switzerland after Lausanne HC announced that they’ve signed him to a five-year contract.  The 28-year-old had a breakout showing with Lausanne in 2023-24, leading to a one-year deal from Montreal last spring.  Hughes fared relatively well with AHL Laval this year with a 2.58 GAA and a .905 SV% in 28 outings but has elected to go back overseas for the long haul now.
  • Still with the Canadiens, Laval announced (Twitter link) that they recently signed defenseman Owen Protz to an ATO agreement. Montreal drafted the 19-year-old in the fourth round last June, taking him 102nd overall.  Protz had 32 points in 67 games with OHL Brantford this season while adding six more in 11 playoff contests and will now get his first taste of the pros, albeit likely in a reserve role.

Poll: Who Will Win The 2025 Calder Memorial Trophy?

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Unlike many years where there is a clear-cut favorite for the Calder Memorial Trophy, the 2024-25 season had different ideas. A reasonable case could be made for any of this year’s finalists: Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens, Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames, and Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks.

Hutson likely has the strongest case of the trio. The former 62nd overall selection scored six goals and 60 assists in 82 games for the Canadiens this season, tying Hall-of-Famer Larry Murphy for the most assists recorded by a rookie defenseman. The 20-year-old blue liner ranked second on Montreal in ATOI (22:44) and was a large part of their run to the postseason for the first time since the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. Additionally, Hutson led the Canadiens in postseason scoring with five assists in five games.

Meanwhile, Wolf looks to become the first netminder to win the award since Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2008-09. He finished with a slightly worse year than Mason, comparatively, managing a 29-16-8 record in 53 games with a .910 SV% and 2.64 GAA. Still, although Mason backstopped the Blue Jackets to their first postseason appearance in 2009, Wolf was a major reason the Flames remained competitive until the last week of the regular season.

Lastly, last summer’s first overall pick will also be up for the award. Celebrini was one of the few bright spots on a rebuilding Sharks team, leading the team in scoring with 25 goals and 63 points in 70 games. His offensive output tied with fellow-rookie Matvei Michkov of the Philadelphia Flyers (in 10 fewer games), and bested last year’s Calder recipient, the Chicago Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard, by two points in two additional contests. Celebrini’s 25 goals accounted for 12% of all San Jose goals this season.

Although the members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) will have the final say in who ultimately wins the award, it’s time to cast your vote. Who do you think will win this year’s Calder Memorial Trophy? Vote below!

Who Will Win The 2025 Calder Memorial Trophy?
Lane Hutson (Montreal Canadiens) 69.40% (2,304 votes)
Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks) 15.69% (521 votes)
Dustin Wolf (Calgary Flames) 14.91% (495 votes)
Total Votes: 3,320

If the poll doesn’t show up for you, click here to vote.

Lane Hutson, Macklin Celebrini, Dustin Wolf Named Calder Trophy Finalists

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The NHL announced the finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy ahead of the 2025 Draft Lottery. The award is handed out annually to the NHL’s Rookie of the Year. This year’s finalists will be Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, San Jose Sharks centerman Macklin Celebrini, and Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf.

The 2025 Calder Trophy race has been anticipated for years. Celebrini headlined a class full of rookie talent, and seemed deadset on a bid for the award after going first-overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. But his rookie year exceeded even optimistic expectations, as Celebrini managed to lead the Sharks in scoring with 63 points in 70 games – an 82-game pace of 74 points. He also recorded 25 goals on the year, making him the second rookie to reach that mark since Kirill Kaprizov in the 2020-21 season alongside Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov, who recorded 26 goals.

Celebrini managed that scoring despite playing for a dismally low-scoring Sharks roster. San Jose ranked dead-last in scoring this season, with just 208 total goals – four fewer than the dismal Nashville Predators. It was the seventh-fewest total goals scored by a team since 2021, though a slight bump over the 180 goals San Jose totaled last year. That difference – 28 goals – can largely be chalked up to the impacts Celebrini made by seamlessly entering San Jose’s top center role. The Vancouver native won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s MVP last season, and both the MVP and ’Rookie of the Year’ awards in the USHL the year before. A title win here would continue his streak of lifting hardware at every single stop.

But a smooth and successful rookie flight won’t win Celebrini the award outright. Hutson offers formidable competition after scoring the fifth-most points from a rookie defenseman in NHL history. More impressive than that, Hutson’s 60 assists tie with Larry Murphy for the most ever recorded by a rookie defender. That is Hall of Fame company for the young Canadiens defenseman – an incredible mark given the fact that he wasn’t a first-round draft pick just three years ago. Hutson instead went 62nd overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, nearly out of the second round as well. He followed his draft selection with two standout seasons in college hockey, where he was named a Hobey Baker finalists in both seasons.

Through dazzling paths to the show, neither Hutson nor Celebrini had a tougher path to a starring role than Dustin Wolf did. Wolf was a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, selected just four picks before the end of the draft. Like Hutson, many docked his size and ability to play the position at a top role. But Wolf quickly began to silence critics when he turned pro in the 2021-22 season. He set a fantastic 33-9-4 record and .924 save percentage in the AHL that season, good enough to land the ’Baz Bastien’ Award as ’AHL Goalie of the Year’ in his rookie season. Even more impressive than that, Wolf improved on the feat in his sophomore season – recording a 42-10-2 record and .932 and again winning ’Goalie of the Year’. He became just the third goaltender to ever win the award twice, and the first to do it in back-to-back seasons.

Wolf split time between the NHL and AHL lineups last season, hampering his chances for a three-peat of the AHL title. But he could make up for that by winning NHL ’Rookie of the Year’ this summer. Calgary’s success this season seemed to hinge on Wolf’s ability to perform on a nightly basis – and their finish as the highest-scoring team to ever miss the postseason is a testament to his prowess. He finished the year with 0.224 goals-saved above-expected per-60. That’s to say, on a nightly basis, Wolf’s appearance in net afforded Calgary a 0.224 goal advantage – 21st highest in the league between Mackenzie Blackwood (0.248) and Jake Oettinger (0.188). While Celebrini’s impact on a desolate Sharks lineup, or Hutson’s rival of the record books, may warrant more acclaim – Wolf’s rookie year will cement his spot in the Flames lineup all the same.

Canadiens Notes: Hutson, Laine, Free Agents, Dach

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Lane Hutson put up historic numbers in his rookie season, and the Canadiens will look to capitalize on that by discussing a long-term extension as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract, general manager Kent Hughes said today (writes Marco D’Amico of RG). He’s not eligible to put pen to paper on a deal until July 1, but doing so immediately would prevent Hutson from a potentially testy ride through restricted free agency in 2026 and allow the Habs to achieve long-term cost certainty before he potentially increases his value in his sophomore campaign.

Hutson’s likely Calder-winning campaign needs no introduction. The 5’9″ defenseman exploded for 66 points in all 82 regular-season games, tying Lightning star Victor Hedman for sixth in the league in scoring among rearguards and leading all rookies in scoring. Not only does that make him the highest-scoring rookie defenseman in Montreal’s 107-year NHL history, but his 60 assists also tied Larry Murphy for most by a first-year blue liner.

Regardless of when they reach an extension, it’s a foregone conclusion they won’t be able to keep him under the internal salary hierarchy they stuck to when negotiating star winger Cole Caufield’s eight-year extension two summers ago. They’ve yet to sign a deal eclipsing captain Nick Suzuki’s $7.875MM cap hit since he signed that deal in 2021. Patrik Laine is technically the team’s highest-paid player at an $8.7MM cap hit, but they acquired that contract via trade. After seeing youngsters like Flames winger Matthew Coronato land a long-term deal at $6.5MM annually, Hughes will almost certainly have to go into the $8-9MM range on a new deal for Hutson.

There’s more on the Canadiens:

  • While it wasn’t a glowing end to the season for Laine, Hughes credits his impact earlier in the year as instrumental in Montreal’s postseason berth (per D’Amico). The 27-year-old managed 20 goals and 33 points in 52 games after a quicker-than-expected return from a preseason knee injury, but 75% of his goals and 63% of his points came on the power play. His 5-on-5 possession numbers were among the worst on the club with a 43.0 CF% and led to diminished usage in Games 1 and 2 of their first-round series against the Capitals before a broken finger sidelined him for the final three games of their season.
  • Hughes hasn’t made a decision either way on whether to pursue contract extensions with the team’s slate of pending unrestricted free agents, notes D’Amico. Luckily for him, he doesn’t have many of those decisions to make. One has already been made for him on defenseman David Savard, who announced his retirement. The comprehensive list of others includes NHL-rostered forwards Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, and Michael Pezzetta; minor-league centers Alex Barré-Boulet and Brandon Gignac; and depth netminder Connor Hughes.
  • The Canadiens “haven’t given up” on 24-year-old center Kirby Dach after a second major procedure on his right knee in as many years, D’Amico writes. Nonetheless, he relays executive vice president Jeff Gorton “didn’t look overly confident” when discussing Dach and notes he’ll need an eye-opening training camp to regain a top-six role. After playing just twice in the 2023-24 campaign, Dach’s performance wasn’t pretty in 2024-25 before the knee injury ended his campaign in February. He scored 22 points with a team-worst -29 rating in 57 games.

Canadiens Assign Oliver Kapanen And Cayden Primeau To AHL

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Following their elimination at the hands of the Capitals, the Canadiens have sent a pair of players to the minors to keep their seasons going.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they have assigned center Oliver Kapanen and goaltender Cayden Primeau to AHL Laval.

This will actually be Kapanen’s first taste of AHL action.  He started the season with Montreal before being loaned to SHL Timra for more playing time.  After putting up 35 points in 36 games with them, he was recalled to the NHL in April.  All told, the 21-year-old played in 18 regular season contests with the Canadiens, collecting two assists in a little under 11 minutes of playing time.  Kapanen also picked up a helper in three playoff appearances where he logged just under seven minutes a night of action.

As for Primeau, his stint with Montreal was short-lived after being recalled last weekend following the injury to Sam Montembeault.  He struggled mightily in limited action with the Canadiens this season, posting a 4.70 GAA and a .836 SV% in 11 appearances.  However, he was dominant with Laval, winning 21 of 25 games while putting up a 2.00 GAA and a .926 SV%.  A pending restricted free agent owed a $1.068MM qualifying offer next month, Primeau and prospect Jacob Fowler will serve as the Rocket’s netminders for their postseason run.

Notably, netminder Jakub Dobes was not sent down.  Montreal used one of their four post-deadline recalls as a paper transaction to keep the 23-year-old eligible to play with the Rocket down the stretch.  However, it appears that won’t be the case now.  Dobes could be a candidate to play for Czechia at the Worlds or perhaps the team decided that since he has been a full-time NHL goalie since late December, it wouldn’t be right to send him down now.

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