Canadiens prospect Emmett Croteau has entered the transfer portal, relays Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. The 20-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Montreal in 2022, going 162nd overall. Croteau recently finished his freshman year at Clarkson but only suited up six times and struggled, posting a save percentage of just .835. With Clarkson adding Ethan Langenegger – a fifth-year transfer – via the portal, playing time for Croteau wasn’t going to be coming next season so he’ll try his luck at landing a better opportunity elsewhere.
Canadiens Rumors
Canadiens Sign Lane Hutson To Entry-Level Deal
2:49 p.m.: Hutson’s ELC carries the maximum $950K cap hit, per PuckPedia. The full breakdown is as follows:
2023-24: $855K base salary, $95K signing bonus
2024-25: $855K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $750K Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses
2025-26: $885K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $850K Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses
In a follow-up note, PuckPedia added that the maximum amount of ’A’ cumulative bonuses Hutson can earn on the contract is $1.15MM over the two seasons.
1:26 p.m.: The Canadiens have signed top defense prospect Lane Hutson to an entry-level contract, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Friday.
The 20-year-old’s sophomore season at Boston University ended yesterday when the Terriers were eliminated in the semifinals of the NCAA national championship, upset 2-1 in overtime by Denver. Hutson won’t make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Senators but could suit up in their two remaining contests against the Red Wings, says Sportsnet’s Eric Engels.
Montreal confirmed it’s a three-year deal beginning immediately for Hutson, meaning he’ll be an RFA upon expiry in 2026. They didn’t disclose financial terms.
Hutson, a left-shot, landed first in the Canadiens prospect pool in Scott Wheeler’s 2024 rankings for The Athletic, continuing a meteoric rise in the diminutive defender’s stock. Many public scouts viewed him as a potential first-round selection in the 2022 draft but slipped all the way to Montreal at 62nd overall, late in the second round, with many clubs scared off by his 5’8″ frame. He’s now listed at 5’10” and 161 lbs nearly two years later.
It’s been an exemplary two years for Hutson at BU. Serving as an alternate captain this season, he led all NCAA blue-liners in scoring with 49 points, tied with 2024 draft-eligible Zeev Buium, who’s now moving on to the national championship game tomorrow with Denver. His 1.29 points per game were solely in first place, making him a Hobey Baker Award nominee for the top collegiate player for a second straight season.
He put up quite similar totals in his freshman campaign, earning him Hockey East All-Star credits in both seasons. His 48 points in 39 games in 2022-23 broke Hall-of-Famer Brian Leetch’s records for the most points by a U-19 defenseman in an NCAA season. The Illinois-born defender has also suited up for Team USA in each of the last two World Junior Championships, winning bronze in 2023 and gold in 2024 while totaling a goal and nine assists across 14 tournament games.
Some concerns remain about his undersized frame and his lack of ability to box out NHL forwards in front of his own net, likely dampening his long-term value only slightly. He’s still a possession monster and an incredibly high-volume shooter with excellent agility and playmaking skills, and he has first-pair upside if partnered with a larger, defensively intelligent blue-liner. Even if he can’t handle those minutes at even strength, he’s a slam dunk to quarterback the Habs’ top power play unit in the near future.
Hutson will likely remain in the NHL next season but will need to unseat other young Montreal defenders like Justin Barron, Jayden Struble, Arber Xhekaj, or the older Johnathan Kovacevic for a roster spot. All are either signed for next season or otherwise under team control.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Kaiden Guhle Remains Out Thursday With Upper-Body Injury
- Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle remains out tonight against the Islanders, Patrick Friolet of RDS said. The young defenseman skated this morning as he rehabs an upper-body injury but is sitting out of his fourth straight contest. Guhle, 22, sustained the injury minutes into a clash with the Lightning one week ago and hasn’t played since. He’s now missed five of Montreal’s last seven games, also missing a March 30 contest against the Hurricanes while serving a one-game suspension for slashing Flyers winger Travis Konecny from the Habs bench. The sophomore blue-liner remains in a top-four role, averaging nearly 21 minutes per game. He’s amassed 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 70 games, a lower points per game pace than last year, but has logged improved possession metrics with a 44.4 CF% and 45.9 xGF% at even strength.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Florian Xhekaj
April 10: According to CapFriendly, Xhekaj’s contract carries a $867K cap hit and a $920K AAV. He’ll earn a base salary of $775K in all three seasons. In 2024-25 and 2025-26, he’ll receive a $95K signing bonus and an $80K games played bonus, which drops to an $85K signing bonus and no performance bonus in 2026-27.
April 9: Although it was reported earlier today that defenseman Arber Xhekaj would be missing the remainder of the season due to shoulder surgery, a positive development has still arisen for the family. Today, the Montreal Canadiens announced they have signed Arber’s brother, Florian Xhekaj, to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning next year.
Originally selected with the 101st overall pick by the Canadiens in the 2023 NHL Draft, Florian is set to join Montreal after spending the last two seasons with the Hamilton/Brantford Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League. Experiencing somewhat of an offensive outburst in his second year of Major Junior hockey, Florian scored 34 goals and 65 points in 63 games for the Bulldogs, finishing third on the team in scoring.
Playing a similarly gritty style to his brother, Florian has developed a unique ability to cause a lot of traffic in front of the opposing team’s net. Reminiscent of Tomas Holmstrom of the Detroit Red Wings in the late 1990s and early 2000s, most of Florian’s scoring this season came from deflections in front of the crease.
The organization already announced that Florian will be joining their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, for the remainder of the season, so he is set to pick up some valuable experience down the stretch. Although not eliminated from the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, it will be incredibly difficult for the Rocket to secure a spot this year.
Arber Xhekaj Out For Season, Christian Dvorak Returning Tonight
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Arber Xhekaj is out for the rest of the season and will undergo shoulder surgery tomorrow. The 23-year-old hasn’t played in almost a week and will have his left shoulder operated on; the Canadiens believe he will be ready for training camp next season.
Xhekaj will finish his second NHL season with 44 games played and has tallied three goals and seven assists to go along with a +6 plus/minus. The native of Hamilton, Ontario saw his average ice time increase by about 40 seconds a game, and made some improvements to his defensive game, but still struggled with turnovers. The Canadiens did increase his powerplay ice time to roughly one minute per game, but he couldn’t capitalize on it and recorded no powerplay points this season.
In other Canadiens news, center Christian Dvorak will return to the lineup tonight for the first time since December 30th. The 28-year-old had surgery on January 5th to repair a torn pectoral muscle and will dress against the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s been a tough stretch for Dvorak as injuries and inconsistency have limited his impact this season as he has just three goals and four assists in 25 games. Dvorak was never an analytics darling but his underlying numbers have fallen off since joining the Canadiens three seasons ago.
Canadiens Recall Justin Barron, Announce Injury Updates
The Canadiens will be without a pair of defensemen for their game tonight against Toronto. The team announced (Twitter link) that Kaiden Guhle is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury while Arber Xhekaj is also out with an upper-body injury; he is undergoing further evaluation to determine how long he might be out. In a corresponding move, blueliner Justin Barron was recalled from AHL Laval on an emergency basis which means he won’t count against their post-deadline four-recall limit.
Guhle, who was injured early in Thursday’s game against Tampa Bay, is once again playing a big role on Montreal’s back end this season. Through 70 games, he has six goals and 16 assists along with 178 blocked shots and 141 hits. The 22-year-old sophomore leads the Canadiens in blocks and sits second among their blueliners in ATOI, logging a little under 21 minutes a night.
As for Xhekaj, he broke camp with the Canadiens but was sent to Laval for seven weeks midseason before being recalled in late January where he has been a regular in the lineup since then. The 23-year-old has three goals and seven assists along with 125 hits and a team-high 81 penalty minutes in 44 games with Montreal in just under 16 minutes a night while he added 11 points in 17 contests with the Rocket.
Barron, meanwhile, has split the season between the NHL and AHL. He has played in 41 games with Montreal (a career-high) and has a dozen points to his credit while averaging a little less than 19 minutes per contest. However, the 22-year-old has spent most of the second half of the year in the minors and hasn’t been as impactful as expected although he still has 11 points in 30 AHL contests.
Atlantic Notes: Dvorak, Walman, Greenway
TSN is reporting that the Montreal Canadiens have upgraded the status of center Christian Dvorak to day-to-day, meaning that the 28-year-old could play before the end of the season. The Canadiens announced on January 4th that the Palos, Illinois native would miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle, but he was a full participant in the Canadiens’ practice today and wore a regular jersey.
Dvorak was originally acquired by Montreal back in September of 2021 from the Arizona Coyotes. The trade hasn’t worked out as the Canadiens had hoped after sending a 2022 first-round draft pick and a 2024 2nd round draft pick to Arizona in the exchange. Dvorak has battled inconsistency and injury during his tenure in Montreal, particularly this season where he has missed nearly four months of action and has just three goals and four assists in 25 games.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman will draw back into the lineup after being sidelined with a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old missed the last six games with the ailment and will draw in against the Tampa Bay Lightning in place of veteran Olli Maatta. Walman has dressed in 61 games this season and has averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game, registering 12 goals and nine assists to go along with 150 blocked shots and 106 shots on goal.
- Buffalo Sabres forward Jordan Greenway is reportedly being evaluated for an upper-body injury according to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Lysowski adds that the Sabres are hopeful that Greenway will be day-to-day with the ailment and can get back into game action soon. The Sabres sit seven points back of the Philadelphia Flyers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining and are all but mathematically eliminated at this point in the season. In his first full season with the Sabres Greenway has contributed nine goals and 15 assists in 62 games to go along with 131 hits.
Kaiden Guhle Receives One-Game Suspension
The ruling is in for Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle. After slashing Flyers winger Travis Konecny from the bench during their game yesterday, the Department of Player Safety announced (video link) that Guhle has received a one-game suspension.
The 22-year-old slashed Konecny in retaliation for a hit he threw on winger Juraj Slafkovsky seconds earlier in the dying seconds of the second period. However, any contact with a player on the ice from the bench is prohibited. In the ruling video, it’s noted that any contact that typically occurs from the bench can be handled with a penalty on the play or a fine. However, Guhle’s actions rose above that, resulting in the one-game ban.
It’s the first supplementary discipline of any kind for Guhle who will forfeit just under $4.5K in salary based on his $863.3K AAV. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. He will now miss their game against Carolina on Saturday which should allow Johnathan Kovacevic to return to the lineup. Guhle will be eligible to return for Montreal’s contest versus Florida on Tuesday.
Kaiden Guhle Facing Player Safety Hearing
Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday for slashing Flyers winger Travis Konecny in Thursday night’s win. The 22-year-old sophomore slashed Konecny’s wrist from the bench in retaliation for a hit he’d just laid on Montreal winger Juraj Slafkovsky but did not draw a penalty on the play (video via RDS). Given the minimal severity of the incident, it likely won’t be a long absence for Guhle. Still, retaliatory plays plus being involved in on-ice action from the bench is normally a recipe for supplemental discipline. The 2020 first-round pick has neither been fined nor suspended over his two-year, 112-game NHL career. After missing nearly half his rookie season due to injuries, Guhle is back on track this season with six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 68 games while logging over 21 minutes per outing. Johnathan Kovacevic remains on the roster as an extra defenseman and will draw into the lineup if Guhle misses time.
- Hurricanes winger Jesper Fast will likely return tomorrow against the Canadiens, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. He’s missed Carolina’s last five games and hasn’t played since March 19 with an undisclosed injury. If he’s not quite ready to go, he’ll re-enter the lineup against the Bruins next Thursday, per Brind’Amour. The 32-year-old Swede has six goals and 18 points in 66 games for the Canes after signing a two-year, $4.8MM extension to remain in Raleigh last summer.
ECHL Newfoundland, Trois-Rivières May Not Finish Season
The ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers and Trois-Rivières Lions are at risk of folding before the 2023-24 regular season draws to a close, per a report from Matthew Vachon and Paule Vermot-Desroches of Le Nouvelliste. The clubs, which are the second-tier affiliates of the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens, respectively, are majority-owned by Deacon Sports and Entertainment, which is nearing bankruptcy and owes the city of Trois-Rivière more than $600K.
According to Vachon and Vermot-Desroches, the ECHL has set a deadline for DSE to sell the clubs by April 2. However, the sale of both franchises is unexpected to happen in time. The ECHL’s board of governors, led by commissioner Ryan Crelin, will meet Tuesday to decide whether to allow them to play out the season. Regardless, the league will absorb ownership of the two franchises after the April 2 deadline.
Both teams have 10 or fewer games remaining on their regular-season schedule. The Growlers and Lions are both in the league’s North Division and are part of a tight race to claim the final two playoff spots available with Maine, Reading, and Worcester – all five clubs are within five points of each other. As Vachon points out, it’s worth noting that each team will have a representative at the board of governors meeting that will decide the Growlers’ and Lions’ fate, and it’s fair to assume those in the playoff hunt could help swing a vote toward not allowing the clubs to finish the season.
The Growlers have been one of the league’s most successful teams since their inception in 2018-19, winning the Kelly Cup in their inaugural campaign and making it to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2023. The Lions are only in their third year of existence and their lone playoff appearance, coming in their inaugural season, was cut short in the first round at the hands of Newfoundland.
No players under contract with the Canadiens are currently on assignment to Trois-Rivières, but they hold the exclusive signing rights of three players on the squad: forward Jakov Novak, a 2018 seventh-round pick of the Senators whom they acquired last offseason; defenseman Miguël Tourigny, a 2022 seventh-round pick; and goaltender Joe Vrbetic, a 2021 seventh-round pick.
However, two NHL-signed players are on assignment to Newfoundland. Maple Leafs 2021 sixth-round pick Vyacheslav Peksa is the team’s current backup netminder, posting an .890 SV% and a 5-10-1 record in his first season in North America. Panthers defense prospect Nathan Staios was loaned to the club late last month.