Evening Notes: Blueger, Fowler, McKenna
The Vancouver Canucks are expected to have a high asking price for potential rental center Teddy Blueger, as written by Thomas Drance in an article with The Athletic from last week.
The 31-year-old had to miss a large portion of the season with an undisclosed injury, but since being activated on January 21, he’s been on a hot streak with five points in his last five games. Never notching more than 28 points in a campaign, Blueger is more of a penalty killing role player, but especially in such a thin center market, with a $1.8MM cap hit, he will come at a premium.
Nearly three years ago, Blueger was traded from Pittsburgh to Vegas for a third round pick, then catching on with Vancouver as a free agent. It’s hard to imagine the Canucks will part with him for less than that, considering demand and his strong play of late.
Contenders will have a chance to watch Blueger play a large role against elite competition on the global stage. He is helping lead Team Latvia in the Olympic Games, before coming back to the bottom ranked Canucks heading into the Trade Deadline season.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Montreal Canadiens top goalie prospect Jacob Fowler will miss AHL All Star festivities due to an upper-body injury, the Laval Rocket shared. The 21-year-old has proven to be a steal, chosen in the third round of the 2023 draft out of Boston College and now one of the league’s premier goaltender prospects. Fowler has a .914 save percentage, good for fourth in the AHL, on the sixth-ranked Rocket. Still early in his professional career, the Florida native already appeared in 10 games with the big club this season and performed well. The Rocket noted that he will still “remain on the bench” so it is likely precautionary and no cause for real concern.
- Top 2026 draft prospect Gavin McKenna is expected to return this weekend, according to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. NHL scouts were apparently notified that the Penn State star will be in action at Michigan in a huge matchup between the two top five ranked Big 10 teams. McKenna has had an eventful February, starting with an arrest and felony aggravated assault charges, which were eventually withdrawn. He still faces a misdemeanor charge, but an initial court date tomorrow has been postponed, meaning the 18-year-old can focus fully on the Wolverines.
Canadiens In The Market For First-Line Winger
The Canadiens have begun to softly position themselves in the market for a right-winger to complement Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki on the top line ahead of the trade deadline, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said on Daily Faceoff’s “The Sheet with Jeff Marek” podcast last Friday. Pagnotta speculatively tied them to the Blues’ Jordan Kyrou, who the Habs were more firmly linked to last offseason, but didn’t have any other specific targets to offer.
For the past several seasons, the second-line center slot has been viewed as both a long-term and short-term position of need for Montreal as it transitioned from rebuilder to playoff contender. As Pagnotta mentioned, Oliver Kapanen‘s emergence this season has largely quieted that noise. The 22-year-old rookie is beginning to flourish between fellow youngsters Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky, on pace for 26 goals and 45 points. They’ll want more scoring out of him long-term, but it’s a promising first step for a second-round pick still at the midway point of his development curve.
Slafkovsky had spent his first couple of seasons up with Caufield and Suzuki. Moving him down the depth chart to give Montreal a formidable secondary scoring line hasn’t affected his production much and has been a net positive for the club this season, but they’ve yet to find a stable solution to replace him on the top unit.
Since Slafkovsky’s early-season “demotion,” it’s largely been an alternating mix of Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier riding shotgun on the right side. Together, they’ve averaged under half a point per game this season. They haven’t been a huge drag on the line’s possession impacts – in fact, they’ve controlled 61.6% of expected goals when Texier’s the third man – but it’s not the type of production they need from a top-line winger if they have serious aspirations of cutting through a crowded Eastern Conference field in the playoffs.
If Kyrou is amenable to a move, it could be a fit. He’s hit the 70-point mark three times in the last five years. A down year in 2025-26 means his $8.125MM cap hit through 2030-31 might be tough to swallow at first glance, and he has to waive his no-trade clause to facilitate it. There’s also the question of how the Habs would facilitate such a deal with just $1.5MM in projected cap space on deadline day. Moving out pending UFA Patrik Laine and his bloated $8.7MM cap hit is the clear path forward, but whether St. Louis would be open to taking it back in the deal or if they’d have to shed him in a separate transaction remains to be seen.
Montreal was tied to the Flames’ Blake Coleman last month. He would be a slightly longer-term solution as he’s signed through 2026-27. A respected all-around versatile winger, his offensive ceiling isn’t as tantalizing as other options, though. He’s only hit 50 points once in his career. Giving him premier minutes would obviously give him a better shot at being productive, though, and it would allow the Habs to throw out a more formidable bottom-six group as a result.
Of course, there’s also the option of not making any move at all. They still have some tantalizing names on the come-up, like 2025 second-rounder Alexander Zharovsky, a 6’1″ right winger who’s broken out for 36 points in 44 KHL games this season with a couple of weeks still to go before his 19th birthday. The hold-pat outcome is something Pagnotta relays general manager Kent Hughes remains comfortable with as the Habs carry a comfortable seven-point cushion on a playoff spot.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens
Current Cap Hit: $95,173,995 (under the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Zachary Bolduc (one year, $863.3K)
F Ivan Demidov (two years, $940.8K)
G Jacob Fowler (three years, $923.3K)
D Lane Hutson (one year, $950K)
F Oliver Kapanen (two years, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Bolduc: $425K
Fowler: $80K
Demidov: $2MM
Hutson: $850K
Kapanen: $637.5K
Total: $3.9925MM
The Canadiens were able to get Demidov signed earlier than expected, allowing him to play in the playoffs last season and burn a year of his contract. He’s off to a strong start to his rookie year and it feels like he’s the next player that GM Kent Hughes will look to get signed to a long-term deal and bypass a bridge pact. At the rate salaries are going up, that could land in the $10MM range, especially if they sign an early extension and get the eighth year in. Meanwhile, half of his bonuses are ‘A’ ones and could realistically be hit.
Kapanen is having much more success this season after playing a very limited role at the beginning and end of last year. While he has fared well with Demidov, there remain enough questions about his offensive ceiling to make a shorter-term deal likely. That could fall in the $4MM range depending on his point production. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and has a realistic shot at reaching at least the goals one. Bolduc came over in an offseason move from St. Louis and has shown some signs of being a capable secondary scorer. Still, he’s likely to be in bridge territory as well, likely surpassing the $3MM mark. He has two ‘A’ bonuses in his deal with a 20-goal one being the most realistic.
Hutson will get a longer look later but for now, it’s worth noting that he has four ‘A’ bonuses in his contract and could conceivably hit them all. However, he has a rare clause in his contract that caps the total bonuses achievable in the deal at $1.15MM. He has already hit $750K of that so even if he hits enough of the criteria to reach all four bonuses, his payment will be capped at $400K. Notably, Kapanen is one of the other few players in the league with that restriction on bonus money.
Fowler was brought up a few weeks back and made enough of an impression to get more than a spot start. As a result, he’s already hit his games played bonuses. The Canadiens are hoping that he’ll be their starter of the future. The price tag of those players has jumped past $8MM in recent years but most of those were UFA deals where Fowler has a ways to go to get to UFA eligibility. But with the cap escalating, if he pans out, he could very well land in that range. For now, he’s back in AHL Laval but the bonuses will still count.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
F Kirby Dach ($3.363MM, RFA)
F Patrik Laine ($8.7MM, UFA)
F Joe Veleno ($900K, RFA)
D Arber Xhekaj ($1.3MM, RFA)
The Canadiens took a flyer on Laine in the 2024 offseason after it was clear that a return to Columbus wouldn’t be tenable. The hope was that he’d bring some extra firepower and might be a better fit in a secondary role. When healthy, he has shown flashes of being that threat, especially with the man advantage where he was one of the top scorers last year despite missing two months with knee trouble. However, he also spent a lot of time on the fourth line and was there this season before suffering a long-term lower-body injury. That sets him up with eligibility for performance bonuses in a one-year contract and frankly, that might be the best way for him to potentially maximize his earnings while the signing team can mitigate the risk. A deal like that could have a couple million in base salary and then a few million in bonuses tied to games played and production.
Dach’s injury history is even longer than Laine’s as he has missed more games than he has played since being acquired at the 2023 draft. When healthy for an extended stretch, he has had some moments to show that a top-six player could still be in there but between the inconsistency and injuries, it’s far from a given he’ll get there permanently. His qualifying offer jumps to $4MM and a long-term deal is unlikely. Instead, another shorter-term deal around that number might be the way to go. Veleno came over in free agency after being bought out by Seattle and landing in a soft free agent market. A sub-$1MM qualifying offer helps but with his history, he’d likely garner much more than that in a hearing making him a strong non-tender candidate. Given how things went this past summer, it doesn’t seem likely that his market would be much stronger in 2026.
Xhekaj hasn’t been able to break through his deployment as a sixth defender in recent years, something that won’t likely change the rest of this season. Still, he’ll likely be past 200 games by the offseason and could plausibly double his current price tag which would be on the high side for someone in his role.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Josh Anderson ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Alexandre Carrier ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Jakub Dobes ($965K, RFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($6.5MM, UFA)
G Samuel Montembeault ($3.15MM, UFA)
F Alex Newhook ($2.9MM, RFA)
D Jayden Struble ($1.413MM, RFA)
After being on a bargain contract on his second deal, Gallagher’s contract has been anything but for the majority of it so far. At 33 with a lot of wear and tear on him, that’s probably not going to change. Now a full-time bottom-six player, he could be looking at a 50% drop in pay on his next contract. Anderson hasn’t provided a lot of value on his deal either as primarily a bottom-six piece as well but he’s a couple of years younger than Gallagher and provides a lot of physicality. It would be surprising to see him beat this amount on his next deal but the drop in salary might be pretty short overall.
Danault returned for his second stint in Montreal with a trade right before the holiday roster freeze. A legitimate two-way player early in his contract, he has been more of a defensive specialist the last couple of years. While that’s still a useful player, someone in that role isn’t going to provide great value at this price point. Like Anderson, he’s probably looking at a small cut in pay at a minimum.
Newhook hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time top-six spot like Montreal hoped when they got him a couple of years ago. He’s consistently in the 30-point range (though he was off to a better start this year before his long-term injury) and his positional versatility certainly helps so he’s someone they’ll likely want to keep when his deal is up. His qualifying offer drops to a manageable $2.1MM but, like Dach, a shorter-term contract that buys a year or two of team control might make the most sense; a contract like that could run near the $4MM range.
Carrier fit in quite well after being acquired from Nashville in a midseason trade, stabilizing the back half of their back end. A right-shot player who can cover 20 minutes a game when needed (even if that’s not the most optimal option for him), he should have a strong market in his next trip through free agency which likely pushes his price point past $4MM as well. Struble is in the first season of his bridge deal and has been in and out of the lineup early on. His situation resembles Xhekaj’s right down to playing on an identical cap percentage and, like Xhekaj, doubling this price tag could be doable depending on how things play out.
Last season, Montembeault showed some signs of becoming a legitimate starting goaltender which would be a promising development from a waiver claim a few years back. If he stayed on that trajectory, he could have found himself in the $6MM per season range on his next deal. But early-season struggles have probably scuttled those hopes. Now, he needs to reestablish himself as a starter before thinking about a big raise. Dobes is on his bridge deal and has established himself as a full-time NHLer. Depending on where he lands on the depth chart down the stretch and into next season, his next contract could range between $2MM and $5MM per season depending on how things go; the variance potential is quite high.
Signed Through 2027-28
F Alexandre Texier ($1MM in 2025-26, $2.5MM in 2026-27 and 2028, UFA)
Texier was signed recently after asking for a contract termination from St. Louis, taking a pay cut of more than 50% in the process. He got off to a strong start though, earning him a two-year extension soon after at a rate higher than the one he walked away from. If Texier can remain an impactful player, the Canadiens will do well here but if he goes back to being a depth player, they might wind up regretting this one.
Canadiens To Reassign Sammy Blais
Feb. 4: Blais cleared waivers and can now be assigned to Laval, per Friedman.
Feb. 3: The Canadiens placed winger Sammy Blais on waivers Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll presumably be on his way to AHL Laval tomorrow if he clears.
Blais has been an increasingly rare inclusion in Montreal’s lineup. He ended up appearing in 13 straight contests for the club after they recalled him from Laval in December, more than a month after being re-claimed off waivers from the Maple Leafs. He last played on Jan. 15 against the Sabres, though, and has now been in the press box for eight straight.
Even with the risk of losing the 278-game veteran again on waivers, he was the logical candidate to come off the roster as soon as the Habs needed a spot because of how little he’d played as of late. The Quebec native made his first attempt to return home last summer, signing a one-year deal with Montreal in free agency after winning a Calder Cup with AHL Abbotsford. He was one of the Habs’ last cuts from training camp, though, and ended up getting snagged on the wire by Toronto.
Blais only ended up making eight appearances for the Leafs under head coach Craig Berube, under whom he won a Stanley Cup in St. Louis, notching three points and a -2 rating in a fourth-line role. Montreal was the only team to submit a claim for him when he ended up back on waivers around Thanksgiving, so they were able to send him directly to Laval upon getting him back in the organization.
The 6’2″, 205-lb agitator has had plenty of offensive success in the minors and had nine points in nine games in Laval. He found himself back in the NHL a few weeks later when the Habs needed an extra body in the wake of an injury to Jake Evans. He’s hung around since, but with only one game left before the roster freeze, it’s clear they’re doing a bit of advanced planning to ensure they can remove Patrik Laine from IR on the other side of the Olympic break – he’s expected to be all healed from his abdominal surgery by then.
Latest On Patrik Laine
Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar told reporters earlier today, including Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports, that Logan O’Connor has resumed skating and is progressing. Bednar also emphasized that the upcoming Olympic break will benefit the forward as he works toward a debut this season.
The 29-year-old has been out long term after undergoing hip surgery in June, the second such procedure since 2024. Signed to an extension through the 2030-31 season, when healthy, the Avalanche are banking on the undrafted O’Connor to be a relentless bottom six forward with strong defensive capabilities and penalty killing. He is firmly a 20-30 point contributor at this point, but not needed for more on the high flying team.
Even without him, the Avalanche rank comfortably in first place, and O’Connor will be a classic case of “Trade Deadline at Home”, rejoining the team just in time for a run this spring.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Canadiens forward Patrik Laine is not expected to return tomorrow against his former club at Winnipeg, per Eric Engels of Sportsnet. The sniper will have to look past the Olympic break to make a return, after undergoing surgery in October, and not playing since. In just five games prior to going down, Laine recorded just one helper, as he continues to have highs and lows. The 27-year-old will be in a fascinating spot once healthy, as Montreal is holding firm playoff position without him and may not be so keen to shake up their lineup. On the flip side, the former 40-goal-scorer is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and will be anxious to showcase his worth for a new opportunity, likely elsewhere.
- Nashville Predators pending free agent Michael McCarron has interest from “a lot” of teams, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, shared on yesterday’s episode of the Real Kyper & Bourne podcast. The 30-year-old was listed as a possible trade candidate last week, and now a market is taking shape which may prove enough to sway Nashville to part with their respected grinder. A face-off specialist standing at 6’6″ with serious physicality and just a $900k cap hit, the former first-round pick of Montreal isn’t necessarily a “must” trade, given his improvement as a Predator, but GM Barry Trotz, who made headlines with his sudden resignation announcement yesterday, would be wise to capitalize on a seller’s market where a second or third round pick isn’t entirely out of possibility.
Canadiens Less Interested In Nazem Kadri
Leading up to the trade deadline, Nazem Kadri of the Calgary Flames remains a speculative trade candidate for contending teams. However, the Montreal Canadiens, who have been frequently linked to Kadri in recent months, have cooled their interest in the former Stanley Cup champion over the last few weeks.
In a new article, Marco D’Amico of RG Media indicates that this perceived lack of interest from Montreal isn’t due to Kadri specifically, but rather to the growing flexibility inside the organization. D’Amico added that the Canadiens believe Oliver Kapanen, who has 17 goals and 30 points in 55 games this season, has become a legitimate top-six option down the middle and that Phillip Danault has stabilized the rest of the center core.
As Montreal approaches the deadline, D’Amico believes that it is far likelier the team will look to add a top-six winger to put next to Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki on the first line. However, pursuing Kadri isn’t completely off the table, either. D’Amico confirmed that the Canadiens are not on Kadri’s no-trade list.
Regardless of Montreal’s internal growth, there are still benefits of adding a player of Kadri’s caliber to a relatively young roster. The 35-year-old center has scored 19 goals and 44 points in 52 games across seven postseason trips, and played an integral part in the Colorado Avalanche’s Stanley Cup title in 2022. However, it’s not difficult to ascertain their lack of urgency. In fact, that lack of urgency may lead to a better price for the Canadiens if Kadri’s market completely bottoms out.
Kaapo Kahkonen Eyeing International Options For Next Season
Aside from serving as a backup in Montreal for one game this season, goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen has been exclusively in the minors with AHL Laval. It was similar in 2024-25 as despite multiple waiver claims, he only got into two NHL contests with the rest coming in the minors.
With it becoming clearer that he is viewed as more of a third-string option around the NHL instead of a possible backup, it appears that Kahkonen is exploring other options for next season. Expressen’s Johan Svensson and Mattias Persson report (subscription link) that Kahkonen intends to play overseas next season and is eyeing a spot in either Sweden’s SHL or Switzerland’s NL.
A fourth-round pick by Minnesota back in 2014, Kahkonen was, for a time, viewed as a possible goalie of the future for them. San Jose felt the same way, acquiring him in 2022 for Jacob Middleton in the hopes that a change of scenery could get him going and stabilize their goaltending situation at the same time.
That didn’t happen and it would be fair to say that Kahkonen has had a bit of a nomadic journey since then. In less than two years, the 29-year-old has spent time with San Jose, New Jersey, Winnipeg, Colorado, Florida (AHL only), and now Montreal after the Canadiens signed him to a one-year, one-way deal worth $1.15MM on the opening day of free agency.
For his career, Kahkonen has played in 140 games at the NHL level, posting a 3.34 GAA along with a .898 SV%, numbers that played a big role in his bouncing around as of late. He’s been considerably better than that in the minors this season, putting up a 2.67 GAA with a .905 SV% in 20 games in Laval.
Rather than test the market to see if another opportunity to be a well-paid number three option materializes next season, it looks as if Kahkonen will look to play closer to home instead. He’ll likely have to take a pay cut to do so, however, as seven-figure contracts for players are few and far between in other leagues. But if riding around in the minors isn’t something he wants to do moving forward, heading back overseas is the logical next step for Kahkonen.
Alexandre Texier Out Day-To-Day
Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier missed last night’s victory over the Buffalo Sabres with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement. Texier missed two games, on Jan. 20 and Jan. 22, with a lower-body injury, before returning for three games from Jan. 24 through Jan. 29. It is unclear at this time whether Texier’s current lower-body ailment is related to the one that cost him those two games, though it would certainly not be a huge surprise. The Canadiens did not issue a timeline related to Texier’s injury, so as of right now, he should be considered day-to-day.
Texier plays an important role in the Canadiens’ lineup, serving as the third wheel on the team’s top line alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. In a role formerly occupied by 2022 No. 1 pick Juraj Slafkovsky, Texier has managed seven goals and 17 points in 30 games as a Canadien. His solid play earned him a two-year, $2.5MM AAV contract extension last month. 2019 No. 3 pick Kirby Dach skated in Texier’s vacated top line role against the Sabres, making a crucial play along the boards to help set up the team’s game-winning goal. For as long as Texier is injured, Dach, a pending RFA, figures to get the significant opportunity that is playing alongside two star forwards on Montreal’s top line.
Canadiens Fire Goalie Coach Eric Raymond
The Canadiens announced that they’ve relieved goaltending coach Eric Raymond of his duties. They’ve promoted AHL Laval goalie coach Marco Marciano to the big club for the remainder of the season in an interim capacity.
After receiving spectacular goaltending on their way to a surprise playoff berth last year, Montreal’s crease has been in disarray for much of the season. Sam Montembeault rode a breakout season in 2024-25 to a spot on Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and deservedly so. He was one of the most-used goalies in the league at 60 starts and two relief appearances, and he backed that up with a 31-24-7 record, .901 SV%, 2.82 GAA, and a spectacular 24.6 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. He finished eighth in Vezina Trophy voting and looked to be a surefire starting option heading into this year.
Instead, the 29-year-old has played poorly enough to surrender the lion’s share of starts to 24-year-old Jakub Dobes, who’s still been below-average in his own right. Montembeault has a porous .869 SV% in 20 starts while Dobes, who’s ridden some strong goal support to a 16-5-3 record in 24 outings, has a .890 mark with a 2.96 GAA. Together, they’ve combined to allow 9.2 goals above expected, with Montembeault accounting for 7.9 of them, per MoneyPuck.
Regardless of whether Raymond is the one taking the brunt of the blame for that regression, the Habs clearly feel a change is needed. Raymond, a Montreal native, had been with the club since the 2021-22 season and was in his fifth year in the role. It was his first stop as an NHL goalie coach, but he’d spent time in the Rangers organization as their AHL goalie coach and had extensive experience in the role in the QMJHL.
They’ll now turn to Marciano, who got his start in the organization way back in 2013 as the video coach for their AHL affiliate, then the Hamilton Bulldogs. When the team relocated to St. John’s in 2015, he was promoted to assistant goalie coach and again to goalie coach for Laval after another relocation in 2017. This year, he’s overseen an exceptional transition to pro hockey for top prospect Jacob Fowler, who’s posted a .912 SV% and 2.35 GAA in 19 showings with a 12-7-0 record and three shutouts. The 21-year-old also spent some time up with the Habs in December and January and outperformed both Montembeault and Dobes, logging a .902 SV% in 10 outings with 1.8 GSAx.
Latest On Alexandre Texier
The Montreal Canadiens shared earlier today that Alexandre Texier is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. As expected, the forward was not in the lineup tonight against Minnesota, as Kirby Dach, activated earlier today from LTIR, is back in the fold.