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Canadiens Wrap: Salary Cap Situation, Free Agency, Trades
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- Canadiens Wrap: Salary Cap Situation, Free Agency, Trades
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MONTREAL — It feels like every hour features more Montreal Canadiens news, and we're all bound to miss a story or two. With that in mind, we recap the relevant NHL news you may have missed, to help you stay in the Canadiens loop.
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Montreal Canadiens News And Notes
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According to Gerry Johansson, Brendan Gallagher 's agent, there's some interest in his services via the Vancouver Canucks . Gallagher spent his entire Junior career playing for the Vancouver Giants, and the Canucks are clearly a good fit from a roster standpoint. [ Canadiens Analysis: NHL Trade Partners For A Potential Gallagher Deal ]
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Speaking of Gallagher, he knows his time in Montreal is coming to an end, at least for the time being.
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Seeing as Dylan Larkin has requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings , we evaluated his potential impact with the Habs. It may be a long shot, but if the Canadiens can convince both Larkin and the Red Wings to accept a trade, he'd be a clear-cut upgrade, filling a desperately needed weakness in the process. [ Larkin Trade Talk: Pros And Cons Of Potential Deal ]
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Darren Dreger is suggesting the trade that would have sent Matthew Knies to the Habs was not close to materializing, which conflicts with the earlier report that a deal was almost done, but was submitted a minute too late.
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Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer is expected to become a free agent this summer. While there are several factors working in his favour, his usage with the Panthers was the driving force behind his improved production in 2025-26. This doesn't mean the Canadiens should avoid signing him, but they should guard against overpaying for his services. [ NHL Free Agency: Evaluating Greer's Potential Impact With Habs ]
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Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes will be guarding Montreal's net heading into 2026-27, and though they're both quite young, they're already building solid chemistry. Stu Cowan at The Gazette wrote an interesting article about Dobes' confidence, as well as their budding friendship. [ Montreal Gazette ]
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Prospect Yevgeni Volohkin was honoured in the VHL, Russia's equivalent to the AHL. Volohkin was named the goaltender of the year, thanks to his 1.51 goals against average, and .948 save percentage while playing for Khimik Voskresensk. He was also quite good in the playoffs, sporting a .936 save percentage, and powering Khimik all the way to the league finals, where they fell against HC Yugra. Volohkin is expected to play the majority of the upcoming season in the KHL, with Spartak Moscow.
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Tuesday was the 33rd anniversary of the last time the Stanley Cup made its way to Canada for its summer vacation. Avoiding Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins definitely made Montreal's path to success a little easier to navigate, but that team was no fluke. They were filled with young, talented players, and clearly deserved to clinch Montreal's 24th Stanley Cup. Now, that 1986 team, that one had a lot of luck on its side, but that's a story for another day.
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Silky-smooth skater Adam Engstrom was named to the AHL's Top Prospect Team, after yet another solid season with the Laval Rocket. It's become quite clear that the time he spent in the SHL has helped him hit the ground running in the AHL. [ Canadiens Prospect Receives Important AHL Accolade ]
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Newfoundlander Alex Newhook didn't exactly dominate when it came to puck possession, but he improved his production in 2025-26, and his playoff performance was enough to earn him well-deserved praise. While the first line struggled in the playoffs, depth players, led by Newhook, took over from an offensive standpoint [ Canadiens Player Grades: Newhook Clutch Playoff Performance ]
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Prospect Alexander Zharovsky will be at Canadiens training camp, a situation that was far from a guarantee given that he still has a KHL contract. The highly-skilled forward was voted as the Canadiens' No. 3 prospect in the recent annual rankings. [ Canadiens Prospect Rankings – No. 3 Brilliant Zharovsky ]
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It appears that former Hab Cayden Primeau will be heading to the KHL, joining another former Canadiens netminder who has carved out a nice career for himself, Zachary Fucale .
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The Canadiens will have to find a new head coach for the Laval Rocket, as former coach Pascal Vincent has accepted a job in the NHL with another franchise. Vincent was easily the best AHL coach the Rocket have had since moving to Laval, and definitely deserves the promotion to the NHL, it's just a shame it wasn't with the Habs. [ Canadiens Lose AHL Head Coach To Kraken ]
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One of the top Canadiens prospects, Alexander Zharovsky, has arrived in Montreal. Here's what to expect from the highly-skilled forward this summer, as well as for the 2026-27 season. [ Top Canadiens Prospect Zharovsky Summer Plans, Demidov Practice ]
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File this under 'not surprising whatsoever', Bryce Pickford, the high-scoring defenceman, will be in the running for the CHL Defenceman of the Year, as well as the CHL Player of the Year. Pickford finished seventh in the annual Montreal Canadiens prospect rankings, as voted on by Habs fans. [ Canadiens Top 20 Prospects: No.7 – Extraordinary Pickford ]
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This isn't necessarily Canadiens-related news, but Darnell Nurse has demanded a trade from the Edmoton Oilers. Nurse was a former client of current Habs general manager Kent Hughes, a situation that led to a very rich contract with the Oilers, to the tune of eight years, and a $9.25 million annual average value. We have to admit, it's funny that Hughes' solid work as an agent is actively hurting his competitors in the NHL.
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The Habs continue to bring home impressive individual accolades. On Friday afternoon, it was announced that freshman players Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes were named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team for the 2025-26 season. Oliver Kapanen , who scored 22 goals as a rookie, was not included. [ Young Canadiens Players Named To All-Rookie Team ]
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In addition to the rookie nominations, sniper Cole Caufield was named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team, quite the accomplishment for the 25-year-old forward. Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson also received votes, but missed the cut. [ Caufield Joins Top NHL Players On All-Star Teams ]
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Former Laval Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent joined Tony Marinaro to discuss all things in the AHL, including Florian Xhekaj's NHL potential. Xhekaj was voted as the No. 9 prospect by Canadiens fans in our annual rankings. [ Canadiens Top 20 Prospects: No.9 – Truculent Xhekaj ]
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The Montreal Victoire continue their ….err, victory tour, with the Walter Cup serving as a host for what looks like a poutine that included shredded cheese. Look, we can't criticize Marie-Philip Poulin on anything related to Canada, but let's be clear, this is an exception. From here on end, curds only!
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There's no other way of putting it, Cole Caufield had an excellent 2025-26 season. Not only did he set career bests in most categories, he scored more goals against netminders than any other NHL player. [ Canadiens Player Grades: Caufield Clutch Scoring Success ]
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