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Hayden Paupanekis Won't Participate In Canadiens' Rookie Camp

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A trade market for Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha continues to materialize throughout the summer months. According to a new report from James Murphy of RG Media, an NHL source claims that the Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames are two teams that have inquired about the forward’s availability.

Murphy cited a quote from the source, saying, “The Canadiens definitely have interest in Zacha and have inquired about him, but they’re not the only team. Several teams — I’m told the Flames are one — continue to express interest in him.” While nothing is urgent, especially between the two Original Six rivals, Murphy states that various scenarios are now being discussed.

He did not specify which players the Canadiens might be willing to trade for Zacha. However, Murphy mentioned that Joshua Roy, Oliver Kapanen, and Jayden Struble have been mentioned as potential trade candidates in Montreal’s search for a second-line center. Still, it’s notable that outside of swapping draft picks, the Canadiens and Bruins haven’t connected on a player trade since 2001.

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  • One of the Canadiens’ recent draft picks won’t participate in the team’s upcoming rookie camp. In a team announcement, Montreal shared that forward Hayden Paupanekis, drafted 69th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, will miss rookie camp due to a diagnosis of mononucleosis. He’s coming off a relatively productive season split between the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs and Kelowna Rockets, scoring 22 goals and 43 points in 71 games with a -30 rating.

Matheson Hoping To Re-Sign With Canadiens

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Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson is in the final year of his contract and is eligible to sign a contract extension.  His agent Philippe Lecavalier told Richard Labbe of La Presse that the 31-year-old is hoping to re-sign.  Matheson had a breakout showing in 2023-24 when he put up 62 points, putting him ninth among all NHL blueliners in that category.  However, the emergence of Lane Hutson saw Matheson’s offensive minutes drop and the end result was a drop to 31 points.  Noah Dobson is now in the fold which could similarly cut into his offensive chances even more.  That could complicate things on a new contract as a blueliner who logs 25 minutes a night should be eyeing a raise from the $4.875MM he’s set to make this season but with Hutson and Dobson around, the Canadiens may not be inclined to pay market value for someone who probably won’t come close to that career high offensively again with them.

Canadiens To Sign Kevin Mandolese To PTO

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The Canadiens are bringing goaltender Kevin Mandolese to training camp on a professional tryout, reports Frank Seravalli of Bleacher Report. He was scouring the KHL market for a guaranteed deal earlier in the summer but never landed one.

Mandolese, fresh off his 25th birthday, is a former Senators sixth-round draftee who’s since emerged as a steady minor-league presence. He’d spent his entire career in the Ottawa organization until last summer, when the Sens issued him a qualifying offer but ended up trading his signing rights to the Avalanche a couple of weeks later.

The Quebec native’s only NHL action came in 2022-23 amid a rash of injuries in Ottawa’s crease. He made three starts in February and March, performing above expectations with a .916 SV% and 3.29 GAA – only allowing 10 goals despite facing nearly 40 shots per game. For whatever reason, that strong initial showing never landed him another NHL opportunity.

Mandolese also didn’t play very much in the Colorado system last year. He made 19 appearances for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, where he served as the primary backup to No. 3 option Trent Miner and had an 11-6-0 record in 19 showings with a .903 SV%, 2.87 GAA, and one shutout. The Avs did not issue him a qualifying offer at the end of last year, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Montreal is likely looking for a more experienced AHL option to have under contract. Starter Sam Montembeault is set in stone, but youngster Jakub Dobes will be battling with veteran free-agent pickup Kaapo Kähkönen for the No. 2 job in camp. If Kähkönen doesn’t make the team and is lost on waivers, that would leave Montreal with just three goalies under contract and top prospect Jacob Fowler without much help in AHL Laval as he kicks off his first professional season. As such, Mandolese will take a PTO with the Habs to start while they sort out whether they want to offer him a two-way NHL contract or only extend him a minor-league offer.

Despite KHL Extension, Konyushkov Hopes To Play In North America Down The Road

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  • Back in July, Canadiens prospect Bogdan Konyushkov signed a one-year extension in the KHL, keeping him under contract through 2026-27. However, as he told Denis Klesarev of Sport-Express, the blueliner acknowledged that he still wants to try his hand in North America, suggesting that he will eventually sign with Montreal.  The 22-year-old logged nearly 23 minutes a game last season with Torpedo while collecting 17 points in 67 games and could be an intriguing option for the Canadiens if and when he decides to come to North America.

Ken Dryden Passes Away At 78

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Early Saturday morning, the Canadiens announced that their long-time goaltender and Hall of Famer Ken Dryden passed away Friday at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer.  Team owner Geoff Molson released the following statement:

Ken Dryden was an exceptional athlete, but he was also an exceptional man. Behind the mask he was larger than life. We mourn today not only the loss of the cornerstone of one of hockey’s greatest dynasties but also a family man, a thoughtful citizen and a gentleman who deeply impacted our lives and communities across generations. He was one of the true legends that helped shape this Club into what it is today.

Drafted by Boston back in 1964, he was traded to the Canadiens that same offseason.  He spent three seasons at Cornell, posting a sterling 76-4-1 record before turning pro and entering Montreal’s farm system, a place he didn’t spend much time in before getting the call to the NHL.

Dryden was a crucial member of Montreal’s dynasty in the 1970s.  He played in eight seasons with the Canadiens during that stretch, compiling a 2.24 GAA and a .922 SV% in 397 games, winning the Calder Trophy in 1972 along with five Vezina Trophies for the NHL’s best goaltender.  In the playoffs, he was similarly dominant, helping lead Montreal to six Stanley Cup victories in that span.  Dryden was also a key contributor in Canada’s victory over the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summit Series and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

But hockey wasn’t Dryden’s only passion.  He was in law school in the early part of his career and famously didn’t play in 1973-74 while articling at a Toronto law firm after the Canadiens wouldn’t rework his contract.  Then, following the 1978-79 season, he decided to retire altogether at the age of 31.

Dryden got into broadcasting and wrote multiple books to stay involved in the game of hockey and then joined the Maple Leafs in 1997, serving as their team president through 2004.  Toronto had a pair of Conference Final appearances during that stretch, a plateau they have not reached since.

Dryden then stepped away from hockey to serve in politics, becoming a Canadian Member of Parliament from 2004 through 2011.  Soon after, he was awarded the Order of Canada for contributing to the sport of hockey and to public life.

We here at PHR join the hockey world in mourning Dryden’s passing and send our condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.

Sharks Acquire Carey Price’s Contract From Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens have traded Carey Price’s contract and a 2026 fifth-round pick to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for minor-league defenseman Gannon Laroque. Price has not played since 2021, after undergoing surgery to repair a serious meniscus injury. He carries a $10.5MM cap hit through the end of this season.

Price has received a $5.5MM signing bonus on September 1st of each year of his contract. The Canadiens paid that tab earlier this week, opening the door for his lofty cap hit to be moved out. With no bonuses to worry about, San Jose will only have to pay Price $2MM in base salary, while reaping the benefits of a $10.5MM cap hit. That mark brings San Jose’s cap utilization up to $86.23MM – still $9.24MM below the cap ceiling. Montreal, meanwhile, will move forward with roughly $4.57MM in cap space.

The trade makes sense financially for both sides. The Sharks now distance themselves from the cap floor, while Montreal will be able to enter the season without utilizing long-term injured reserve. That latter point will prove particularly beneficial for Montreal, as they’ll now have the flexibility to bring in almost $5MM in lineup talent – rather than being forced to enter the season at the cap ceiling, since they exceeded the ceiling with Price’s contract on the books.

Montreal is planning to take full advantage of that newfound flexibility, per Marco D’Amico of Responsible Gaming. D’Amico shares that – whether it’s before the season or closer to December – the Habs have expressed interest in building out their roster. The team is noticeably lacking depth at the center position, with little to offer behind clear-cut, top center Nick Suzuki. That could make the Canadiens a strong candidate for a player like Jack Roslovic, who surprisingly remains on the free agent market despite scoring 22 goals and 39 points in his ninth NHL season last year.

The Canadiens will also receive an interesting prospect in this swap. Laroque has fallen victim to substantial injuries throughout each of the last few seasons. He had to undergo surgery on both hips in 2022, forcing him to sit out of all but four games of his final WHL season. He scored five points in those games. Recovery from the hip surgery continued through the 2023-24 season, though Laroque was able to play nine games, and record two points and eight penalty minutes, in both the AHL and ECHL. He seemed well-set to formally begin his pro career, before being pulled out of the 2024-25 season entirely by an undisclosed injury. It wasn’t revealed if this new injury was related to his previous hip surgeries. He was a productive, right-shot defender when he appeared at the junior level. Spending the better parts of two seasons with the WHL’s Victoria Royals, Laroque was able to record 59 points in 84 games.

Meanwhile, San Jose will move forward with balanced books and a clearer outlook of their expenses this season. This move drops San Jose from having the second-most cap space in the league, to the ninth-most. They also now carry 49 contracts, out of a possible 50. Sharks fans will zero in on how the team chooses to move forward with superstar prospect Michael Misa – the second-overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft. Misa scored an incredible 62 goals and 134 points in 65 OHL games this season, but still remains unsigned despite seemingly accomplishing everything he could at the junior flight. He’ll be a name to watch closely, and could even find his way onto the Sharks’ opening night roster, now that the team has a bit more financial security.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports.

Canadiens' Kent Hughes Tempering Next Year's Expectations

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  • Despite qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2021, the General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens, Kent Hughes, is tempering down expectations for the team entering the 2025-26 campaign. Montreal gained a year of experience from last year’s playoff run and boosted its forward core this summer by adding Zachary Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues. Still, in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Hughes was quoted as saying, “It’s great that the fan base is excited about it. As a general manager, you worry that the players don’t get too far ahead of themselves. It’s a little bit harder when people see you coming than when we sneak up on them.“

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Evening Notes: Laine, Salary Cap, 84-Game Schedule

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Montreal Canadiens winger Patrik Laine has a path to more minutes this season, after averaging a career-low 14:18 in ice time last season. Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes met with Laine to discuss areas he could focus growing in to earn a hardier role in the lineup, shares Sportsnet’s Eric Engels.

Laine finished the season with 20 goals in 52 games, but Montreal was also outscored 17-to-26 when Laine was on the ice at even-strength. Questions about Laine’s effort outside of the defensive zone have existed since his rookie season, but it’s hard not to imagine those are the attributes the Canadiens would like to see more. Finding an added step towards opponents in the defensive zone, and winning more battles in the dirty areas of the ice, would go a long way towards helping the 6-foot-4 Laine fit in with an otherwise undersized top-six. Laine reached the 30-goal mark in each of his first three seasons in the NHL, and could be a real X-factor in the Canadiens lineup should he take the necessary strides.

Other notes from around the league:

  • NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly elaborated on upcoming changes to the league’s use of long-term injured reserve in an interview at the NHL’s pre-season coaches/GM meeting. He received many questions on the league’s new rule that playoff lineups must be cap-compliant. That includes one from Engels, who asked if there would be exceptions made for players working back from injury who are game-time decisions. Daly did not have an answer, other than to say that the league will answer that question in the future. The Stanley Cup playoffs are eight months away, allowing for plenty of time for the league to continue sorting out how they want to carry out changes to the CBA.
  • More light has also been shed on the league’s upcoming shift to an 84-game schedule, set to begin in the 2026-27 season. With that expansion, the season will be slated to begin in late-September and end in mid-June, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The shift to an earlier start to the season will be welcomed by many hockey fans, though a heavier workload will keep the season’s end tight to the NHL Draft and start of free agency on July 1st. That will be bittersweet news for many, especially NHL front offices, who have recently urged for a longer break between the end of the season and start of free agency.

Carey Price Trade Not A Necessity For Canadiens

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Trade attention has once again zoned in on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price as the league announces changes to the use of long-term injured reserve and salary cap in the postseason. The future Hall-of-Fame goaltender hasn’t played since 2021, after undergoing meniscus surgery to address a severe knee injury. Montreal has kept him on LTIR, and thus received full relief from his $10.5MM cap hit, in each of the three seasons since. That cap hit and LTIR relief could each be beneficial for teams across the league, but Canadiens’ general manager Kent Hughes told Sportsnet’s Eric Engels that he’s in no rush to find a deal. Hughes said:

We don’t have to trade Carey Price… If we can find a trade to move his contract that makes sense for us and makes sense for another team, we’ll pursue it. But we don’t have to.

The Canadiens are currently $5.93MM over the salary cap, per PuckPedia. Placing Price back on LTIR at the start of the season will bring them up to roughly $4.57MM in cap space, more than enough for next season. That cap relief underlines Hughes’ sentiment of not needing a deal, and would likely force Montreal to bring back another long-term injury in any Price trade. They could balance their budget by swapping Price for a player like Logan Couture from the San Jose Sharks, or even by acquiring Shea Weber’s contract from the Chicago Blackhawks. Both teams sit roughly $6MM over the salary cap floor as things stand, and could get a hardier budget by paying up for Price’s contract.

As for what Montreal could expect in return, the list of comparable IR moves has run a bit thin. Montreal used Weber’s contract to acquire NHL winger Evgenii Dadonov from the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022. He’s moved multiple times since – most recently in a trade to Chicago alongside minor-leaguer Aku Raty and the rights to Victor Soderstrom in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.

In the year prior to Weber’s original move to Vegas, Chicago used Brent Seabrook’s contract to acquire NHL forward Tyler Johnson and a second-round pick. That could be a better structure to hope for – though it’s hard to gauge if the market remains the same four years later, and with the changes to LTIR. With no rush to make a deal, Montreal will have the luxury of sitting back until a strong offer comes through.

Lane Hutson Ranked 34th-Best Under-23 Player

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In a recent article on The Athletic, Corey Pronman ranked 173 players under the age of 23 who are currently on NHL teams’ reserve lists. This means that these players may not be playing for their respective teams just yet. In a major snub to the reigning Calder Memorial Trophy winner, Pronman ranked Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson 34th on that list, lower than eight other defensemen.

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