Times are tough for the CHL due to new regulations allowing players to exile themselves to American universities.
A few days ago, we learned that Gavin McKenna was leaving the WHL to go to Penn State. It’s all very well, but money continues to dominate.
No Canadian team can match an offer of $700,000…
But, as Q president Mario Cecchini said, “Canada would have lost him next year anyway.
Sad, but true. In June 2026, he’ll be drafted, and barring a major surprise, he’ll start right in the NHL.
Today, Frank Seravalli revealed a very interesting piece of information, but one that won’t help Canadian teams retain talent. The journalist said that, under the new collective agreement, NHL teams will be able to bring one 19-year-old player from the Canadian leagues to the NHL per season.
Sources say a new provision in the CBA will allow each #NHL team to place one 19-year-old CHL player in the #AHL per season.
One per organization per season and 18-year-olds are ineligible.
This change will begin as early as the 2026-2027 season and will be very beneficial for NHL teams and 19-year-old players who have capped out.
I’ll give you an example: instead of playing his fifth junior year at 19, Joshua Roy could have played with the Rocket, where he would have developed much more. A guy like Shane Wright wouldn’t have needed the special clauses to play in the AHL at 19 like he did.
If this change went into effect as early as 2025-2026, it wouldn’t have made any difference to the Habs, who don’t have any top prospects who have capped out in the CHL.
But players like Beckett Sennecke (Ducks), Cayden Lindstrom (Blue Jackets), Tij Iginla (Mammoth) and Berkley Catton (Kraken) could benefit greatly from this new rule. Simon Boisvert will be happy with the change, in any case.
A victory for the NHL, (another) defeat for the CHL, which will continue to lose its stars a year early…
Overtime
– Great read on Noah Dobson.
Diving into Noah Dobson’s game: what he brings to the Canadiens offensively, his puck retrieving ability, how he fits on Montreal’s blue line, and some of the weaknesses that hold him backhttps://t.co/OIz5gDTxLj
Chris Johnston: “I think a (Erik) Karlsson trade is still possible but the Penguins are not just giving him away, they still correctly see him as someone who can make a difference for a team”
Elliotte Friedman: Seattle added Ryan Lindgren, it makes me wonder a little bit about Jamie Oleksiak’s future; there was a lot of interest in him at the deadline last year – 32 Thoughts Podcast
– NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 10, 2025
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard did not qualify for the Canadiens.
He finally became an unrestricted free agent and decided to join the Pittsburgh Penguins. It’s a good decision for the forward, as there’s less depth at forward than before, and he’ll have a much better chance of becoming an NHL regular.
That said, he wanted to stay in North America, where several teams were interested in his services. We learn this in a text by Roby St-Gelais on the Radio-Canada Sports website.
Pittsburgh had good things to say about RHP, and the love was mutual.
The man who knew his time in Montreal was coming to an end can’t wait to start practicing with legends like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
I’m excited to have a fresh start on a new foundation. There are players like Sidney Crosby who I watched growing up, and now I’ll be able to watch him from the rink. – Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
The Québécois, who signed a one-year contract worth $775,000, will spend most of the summer in Québec, but will soon head to Pittsburgh to familiarize himself with the facilities and environment of the Pennsylvania Penguins.
In an interview with Radio-Canada, RHP also opened up about the mysterious injury that caused him to miss the start of last season. Until today, we knew it was a leg injury sustained during a charity event. In his interview, he confessed that, during a softball game, one of his friends ran into his leg in the field.
I got hit in the side of the leg by one of my friends and the leg gave out, let’s say, it was a pretty tough moment with four months off. You never know when it’s going to happen and when it does, you’re disappointed. – RHP
Injuries have really slowed him down in recent years. It’s a shame, because in 2022-2023, he finished the season with 20 points in 34 games.
All in all, Trudeau will have to start the next campaign in Laval.
And… he should have an even bigger role due to the departure of Logan Mailloux, who was traded to the St. Louis Blues last week.
That said, the Québécois has shown great promise since turning pro, and if the Canadiens need to recall a (left-handed) guy next season in case of injury, Trudeau could still prove an interesting target.
He’s got some offensive flair in his game, he’s gotten really better defensively… and his decision-making is good, as he never gets into trouble with what he’s doing in his zone.
It’s just a shame, though, that he’s going to have to miss the Canadiens’ training camp, because it might have sent a message to Montreal management.
It would have been a great opportunity for him to show his colors… but whatever. The important thing is that he’ll be able to return to action in the first half of the season, and in that respect, I can’t wait to see the impact he’ll have in the Laval Rocket line-up.
Basically, the GMs voted in favor of a decentralized draft for one reason.
We wanted to save money… because bringing the whole team of executives and scouts to one place for a weekend is expensive in terms of expenses.
That said, you have to look at the results of last week’s draft to come to a fairly obvious conclusion. It didn’t work, it was done a little crookedly… and the show simply sucked, in the end.
That’s why, if it happens again, the fans won’t be happy.
The draft was always fun to watch, because it was a good time for everyone. Fans and prospects alike…
Clearly, the NHL will have to get its knickers in a twist before making a decision.
As Tony Marinaro explains in the following tweet: the league must listen to its fans.
And if the NHL brings back this format next year… there’ll be tears everywhere.
Avoid this:
This years decentralized NHL Draft was shit. They need to go back to the way it was.
David Pagnotta: Marco Rossi is still available; he shares the same agent as K’Andre Miller, they worked out a sign and trade, let’s see what happens here with Rossi and Minnesota – Sekeres and Price
– NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 10, 2025
– Transaction: Matt Dumba moves to Pittsburgh.
Dallas Stars moving Matt Dumba and his $3.75M cap hit to the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to free up cap space for next season.
Zachary Bolduc and Noah Dobson are now part of the Montreal Canadiens organization.
And both players have one thing in common: they’ve played for Patrick Roy since the start of their junior careers.
Roy coached Bolduc in junior (Remparts) and he also coached Dobson with the Islanders. He knows them well, to put it another way.
So the Isles pilot is well placed to talk about both guys.
And in each case, he sang the praises of both new habs members.
Roy sees Bolduc as a guy who can succeed in a market like Montreal’s, and he also sees him succeeding with the Canadiens because of his offensive qualities. Kevin Dubé(Journal de Québec) reported in an article:
Patrick Roy knows full well what awaits Quebecois Zachary Bolduc in the Montreal market, and he’s confident that his former maverick with the Quebec Remparts has what it takes to succeed with the Habs.https://t.co/fzttvZgyrJ
Simon Gagné, who also rubbed shoulders with Bolduc with the Remparts, thinks the forward might even be capable of scoring 30 goals in a single season in Montreal.
That would be interesting:
Simon Gagné, the GM of the Québec Remparts, on his former player Zack Bolduc today:
“I think he has very good potential, he’s a natural scorer. I don’t wanna put too much pressure on Zack but I think with his shot & his offensive flair, he’s capable of reaching the 30 goal… pic.twitter.com/2TJBFHXibR
Obviously, according to Patrick Roy, the Canadiens have added some big pieces in Bolduc and Dobson.
And… what’s peculiar is that he’s not the first to say so either.
The bottom line, after all, is this: Kent Hughes has found a way to improve his team for next season by acquiring a #1 defenseman and a young forward with great potential.
It remains to be seen, then, how the two guys will adapt to their new market.
And if they’re able to do so quickly enough… you’d think they’d be crowd-pleasers before too long.
In Overtime
– The Rocket schedule is out.
A perfectly balanced schedule for the Laval Rocket, with the exact same number of home and away games with various teams.
Of note is that the Rocket no longer play against Belleville a hundred times. pic.twitter.com/3S3ZS1LyLz
It’s not often that a goalie is drafted in the first round of the NHL.
But that’s exactly what happened this year.
With the 20th overall pick, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected a Russian by the name of Pyotr Andreyanov. That said, there’s a little problem with this pick…
There’s a little problem because the main player involved has agreed to a five-year contract with CSKA in the KHL.
Andreyanov, who is 18, could therefore arrive in the NHL at just 23… if he decides to make the leap to North America.
Jackets fans could, however, hope to see him coming in four years’ time, since there’s a potential NHL opt-out clause in the goalie’s contract.
But four years is a long time.
News: #CBJ prospect G Pyotr Andreyanov officially signed a 5-year deal with CSKA Moskva today going through the end of the 2029-30 season, the team announced.
Note: Don Waddell said there is a potential NHL-out clause after four years.
You’d have to think the Blue Jackets knew what they were doing.
Probably they knew Andreyanov was going to sign a long contract in Russia, but still made the decision to pick him in the first round because of his talent.
Because yes… the goalie’s got a lot of talent.
We’re talking about a super-athletic guy who has a lot of fun in front of the net, making spectacular saves. He has the potential to become one of the NHL’s great goalies at some point… if, and only if, Andreyanov wants to play in North America one day.
Will Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton be able to find him by the end of the off-season, to help Ivan Demidov get to the next level in the NHL?
In fact, it’s worth asking whether they haven’t already acquired the #2 center.
Because, in fact, there’s a good chance that Zachary Bolduc will be tried out at center. He’s started practicing his face-offs, as Marco Normandin has learned, and you’d think that his past as a center could come into play.
It’s not necessarily the #1 plan right now, but it’s an option on the table.
What you need to know is that the Habs have told him that they need him at center, and that seeing him practice at center could be a good idea for next season.
The principal interested party practiced his face-offs (he’ll do it again this summer) with Marc Bureau, and he’ll be prepared in case the Habs need him in that position during the season.
But Martin St-Louis’s hybrid system could help him out.
If, in the defensive zone, you’re in man-to-man coverage, whether you’re a winger or a center, it all comes down to the same thing.
The exodus to the NCAA hits hard. “It’s very hard. You have to completely reinvent yourself and kick yourself in the butt to stay competitive,” noted Marc-Étienne Hubert. “The human side is going to take a nasty hit,” added Marc-André Élément. @RDScahttps://t.co/vQNveaM6yf
Montreal CF has played 24 official games so far in 2025.
It has won three in MLS, then one in the Canadian championship against Toronto FC. Here again, purists say they drew with Toronto before winning a penalty shootout. That’s it.
Laurent Courtois, the head of corporate image, Patrick Vallée and Samia Cheiber all dismissed..
Sale of Nathan Saliba, loan of Jakheele Marshall-Rutty, sale of Dominic Iankov, 1001 injuries and suspensions..
Closed-door practices, just one win in 11 games in front of your fans..
The goal of winning a trophy retired at the beginning of July..
It’s only halfway through 2025, and already, it’s safe to say it will be remembered as one of the worst in the history of the CF Montreal club as a whole.
#CFM stands for Ça fait mal?
#CFMTL stands for Ça Fait Mal (en) Tabarn*k Là?
There was a time when going to Saputo Stadium in the summer meant having a good time. Nowadays, it’s all about getting bored. These aren’t my words, they’re those of the Collectif and Samuel Piette himself.
Yesterday, getting knocked out of the Canadian championship by the Forge, a CPL team – for the second time in as many years – represents the bottom of the barrel. Humiliating! Awkward! Pathetic! Unacceptable! Disgraceful! Inconceivable! Choose the word that suits you.
Le Forge is a great story. We’re just not on the right side, unfortunately. I don’t even know if the entire Forge squad makes as much money in 2025 as Prince Owusu or Giacomo Vrioni alone.
Yesterday, Montreal CF had possession(71% vs. 29%), but were unable to find the back of the net with any consistency. Le Forge scored two quality goals, while CF Montreal picked up two balls that were lying in the box. I mean, the difference in quality, it must have been to the advantage of CF Montreal yesterday, by the Forge! #NotLikeMessiSaturday
You had 180 minutes to take the lead against the Forge and you couldn’t do it. All this in front of over 13,000 fans who continue to turn out in spite of everything!
Marco Donadel, whose changes and tactical choices were the talk of the press gallery yesterday, once again dared to talk about individual defensive errors to explain his team’s defeat.
Marco Donadel has just repeated that this defeat can be explained by individual and collective defensive errors.
The coach is (partly) right: why is Luca Petrasso so keen to prevent a corner, even if it means giving the ball back to the opposition on the edge of the box? Why does he leave Tristan Borges – a guy who almost played for CF Montreal, by the way – alone in front of the box?
But yesterday’s defeat can’t just be explained by defensive details or pivotal moments. Quality is lacking in this squad, and it’s increasingly blowing up in management’s face. The strategy of fielding a host of youngsters – poorly supported and nurtured – who we’d like to sell (not that expensively in the end), just doesn’t hold water any more.
How can Dante Sealy refuse to use his right foot when he receives a superb ball in the box and is alone in front of the goalkeeper? A young Quebec soccer player does this in AAA and we explain to him that we’d rather see him miss with his weak foot than try a shot with the outside of his foot while off-balance.
(Credit: Nicolas Brassard)
Bryce Duke multiplied his technical waste in the offensive zone yesterday. Why not give minutes to the Gold Cup ‘s best young player in Olger Escobar?
Dante Sealy (10), Brandan Craig (6) and Joel Waterman (6) all found themselves playing in midfield in the second half. Not all positions had to be doubled or even tripled, Gabriel?
Both the coach and the captain said some players lacked passion, willingness to put the shoulder in, etc. How can you do that in a game with no tomorrow against a team from a lower league?
I’m told things got a bit chippy in the dressing room after the last two games (Saturday and yesterday). Maybe that’s why it took so long for Marco Donadel and a player to appear before the media.
I can confirm that Joey Saputo, who was sitting next to me in the North stand, was (really) not happy with the result last night.
Le Forge is all about consistency, belonging and loyalty. Tristan Borges and Kyle Bekker – last night’s two scorers – have been there for years. Bobby Smyrniotis is patient and that pays off.
On the Montreal side, they’re banking more on turnover, hoping to find “nuggets ” in players left elsewhere to sell quickly or, alternatively, to pay not too much to fill a jersey.
I ran into several die-hard fans at the Stade yesterday. Many of them left before the end or told me they wouldn’t be renewing their season tickets next year. Enough is enough!
You can’t blame them; they’ve been supporting this club for years and they feel they’re not being offered any reason to continue.
If Tony Marinaro’s information is correct, and a CPL club moves to Laval next year, CF Montreal will have a perfect storm on its hands. If I were them, I’d arrange to bring in some (big) reinforcements on July 24, when the mercato opens. Because what’s currently on offer isn’t good enough.
Investing doesn’t just mean creating new VIP sections, notably by throwing out the defunct family zone..
Luca and Simone Saputo will have to make better sporting decisions, and if they’re going to be mentored, they should be. It’s not easy being in charge of sports decisions for a soccer team worth close to half a billion dollars and facing off against Kyle Bekker and Lionel Messi.
And it’s not easy trying to coach a team like that…
(Credit: Nicolas Brassard)
Extension
– After the game, I went for a walk in 132. The anger of the fans was palpable, and the players were subjected to several heartfelt shouts and frustrations as they left the field. I’m told that a few members of 1642 had a run-in with Forge fans on the other side. Montreal CF is playing (clumsily) with the emotions of its die-hard fans and the cup is starting to boil over. As Joey said a decade ago: the fans deserve better.
– The power went out for about twenty minutes early in the second half. You know, when everything goes wrong..
– Marco Donadel was not in a good mood after the game, when he met the media. There were a few nasty comments that reminded me of Laurent Courtois’ last moments at the helm.
– I spoke to both Anthony (Desaulniers and Marcotte) about yesterday’s game and what’s coming up for CF Montreal this morning. Good listening!
– In the end, the stadium applauding Lionel Messi wasn’t all that bad,was it, Nilton?
– Tony’s not entirely wrong.
When Olivier Renard arrived at @cfmontreal, he inherited some bad contracts: Taider 3,2M and Urruti 1,7M. A couple of years later, Wanyama was extended at 1,8M – which was not his call. Not to mention Renard’s budget was cut by 3M.
In the last few days, the Canadiens have acquired Zachary Bolduc. An excellent move.
To do so, they got Logan Mailloux out of the organization. We know that the Habs wanted to trade Mailloux to get him out of the organization, but not at any price. And this was the perfect opportunity to do it by getting Bolduc.
Who will win this deal in a few years’ time? Only time will tell.
I think it’s the kind of deal where everyone could win. Bolduc is a guy who knows how to score, and Mailloux is a big, tough, right-handed offensive defenseman.
That’s an interesting profile.
And Tony Marinaro was right to ask Pierre McGuire, on the heels of his Sick Podcast, if he thought the Habs would ever regret the Blues deal.
Because while I agree with McGuire that it was a great deal for the Habs, I also agree with the following premise: a right-handed defenseman of his profile doesn’t come around very often.
Could trading a high upside prospect like Logan Mailloux come back to haunt the #GoHabsGo down the line?
– The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro (@thesickpodcasts) July 10, 2025
In actual fact, this is the fifth time Kent Hughes has traded a young defender (yes, the bank of prospects was full) since taking office. And by young defenseman, I’m obviously not counting the Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot and Joel Edmundson of this world.
Who are the others, apart from Mailloux?
Alexander Romanov (2022)
Johnathan Kovacevic (2024)
Jordan Harris (2024)
Justin Barron (2024)
One has to wonder whether Mailloux will become more like Romanov and Kovacevic, who both signed big contracts in the New York area, or more like Harris and Barron, who didn’t break anything in 2024-2025.
Barron didn’t take off in Nashville and Harris has already left Columbus as a free agent. #Boston
Mailloux was traded like Romanov, that is, in the context that the club was going to look for a young piece for the offensive top-6 in return. And if he wants, he has the potential to go out and get himself a big contract.
Will he? That remains to be seen. But in St. Louis, he’ll have the tools to do so, as the club will want to show that it was right to trade Bolduc for the young Ontario defenseman. I’m betting more on a Romanov scenario than a Harris one, then.
overtime
– Seen the same way.
All it took was:
-Top-15 in NHL scoring
-Tied for fifth in GWG
– Being +19 on a team with -20 goal differential, and carrying it to a playoff spot when many predicted bottom three in east.
…for Nick Suzuki to finally be a favourite (outside MTL) to make Canada’s Olympic team.
In recent years, the Canadiens have drafted many prospects. That’s what rebuilding is all about.
But even though it’s probably done going after high draft picks (the club isn’t really in a position to trade the Sean Monahans or Ben Chiarots of this world anymore), the club still has plenty of picks for the future.
The Habs still have all their picks for the upcoming auctions as we speak. That’s significant.
But on top of that, as you can see, Kent Hughes has already had his hands on three other picks for the 2026 session for the past 12 months or so. The club therefore has 10 speaking rights for the 2026 draft.
In the second round, the Canadiens have the Blue Jackets’ pick due to the deal that sent Jordan Harris to Columbus and picked up Patrik Laine.
In the fourth round, the Devils’ pick goes to the Habs. #JohnathanKovacevic
And finally, in the seventh round, Kent Hughes got his hands on the Hurricanes’ pick on the heels of the deal that sent Cayden Primeau to continue his career in Carolina.
(Credit: Cap Wages)
10 picks for a club that’s not at the bottom of the standings is quite something.
Since 2022, the Canadiens have drafted between nine and 11 times per auction. Of course, the off-season often started with more picks… but it’s not that different for 2026, for now.
I don’t see the Habs drafting 10 times in 11 1/2 months, by the way. In my eyes, there will be transactions made with the assets represented by the 2026 picks.
But still: since the Habs could draft three of the top 50 prospects in the next crop, we’ll have to keep a close eye on the draft next summer.
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