Islanders Trade Noah Dobson To Montreal Canadiens

Islanders Trade Noah Dobson To Montreal Canadiens

Noah Dobson is on the move before the 2025 NHL Draft. And it is to his preferred destination. The Montreal Canadiens are adding the right-handed defenseman and signing him to an eight-year, $76 million extension. Elliotte Friedman confirmed that it will be a $9.5 million AAV for the Price-Edward Island native:

Noah Dobson is being traded to Montreal and signing an 8x$9.5M extension with the Canadiens

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 27, 2025

The situation became untenable as soon as he asked for an other worldy number from the Islanders. Once that leaked word soon came out that new GM Mathieu Darche was canvassing the trade market to see what he could fetch. The return is yet to be official but it’s expected that at least both of Montreal’s first-rounders (16th and 17th overall) will be included in the deal, per Stefen Rosner:

Believe 23-year-old Emil Heineman is part of the return. Also believe both MTL picks (No. 16 & No. 17) will be part of this as well.

We will wait for official wording. https://t.co/x6HBFiNJYi

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) June 27, 2025

Eliotte Friedman confirmed the above:

Return includes Emil Heineman and both of Montreal’s first-round picks tonight.

Will be interesting to see what NYI GM Mathieu Darche does with them https://t.co/VUtanRytwN

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 27, 2025

For Montreal, they are betting on a hometown kid who still has room to grow. At 25, he does have tools to be a strong #1 defenseman for the long term. However, he will have to contend with Calder winner Lane Hutson for powerplay quarterback time. For all his flaws and hiccups, he is still a big defenseman with puck skills and the ability to block shots and eat minutes. If he can return to his 2023-2024 self that scored 70 points, then $9.5 million will not be a bad price tag in a rising cap.

Schaegens And More?

Love or hate the player, this is a tough pill for the Islanders. Dobson and his agent worked them for leverage and ultimately Darche had to settle for a lesser return. However, adding draft capital and future assets is not the end of the world. Many believe that after drafting Matthew Schaefer first overall, the Isles will not be done tonight. Word is they have considerable interest trading back into the Top-10 and adding Boston College forward and Long Island native James Hagens. Using the picks from Montreal will definitely help in those trade talks.

Furthermore, not handing out a big contract to Dobson changes Darche’s outlook for free agency. That opens up about $10 million for them to potentially add some help. Does wooing Nikolaj Ehlers or adding former Bo Horvat teammate Brock Boeser make any sense? Or do they enter the trade market for a piece like Rasmus Andersson? There’s a lot of avenues the Isles could take to potentially get better now.

Buffalo Sabers Agree To Trade JJ Peterka To Utah

The offseason is really starting to heat up. Another big domino falls before the draft and free agency. While losing Noah Dobson takes their blue line a step back, expect the Islanders to be very active in the coming hours and days. Don’t be surprised if the Canadiens try for another big swing too.

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