The Montreal Canadiens have signed minor-league forward Brandon Gignac to a two-year, two-way contract. This will take over for the AHL contract Gignac is currently on, carrying him through the end of next season. The deal has a prorated $775K salary in the NHL and a prorated $150K salary in the minors for the remainder of this season. He’ll get a raise next season, with the same NHL salary but a $350K salary in the minors, and a $400K guarantee. All cap details come from team reporter Renaud Lavoie.
By signing an NHL contract, Gignac has been effectively recalled to the NHL roster and is slated to practice with the Canadiens on Sunday, per Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Gignac has been an invite to each of Montreal’s last three training camps, leaving each with a minor-league deal. This new contract represents his first recall since joining the Canadiens organization in 2021 and only the second recall of his professional career. His other recall came in March of 2019 with the New Jersey Devils. He played in his NHL debut but was sent down the next day, failing to score his first NHL point and setting a -2.
That has been the only NHL action that Gignac has received, with much of his eight-year professional career being spent in the AHL. He was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft – the same round that yielded Adam Fox and Connor Ingram. Gignac made his AHL debut at the end of the subsequent season and has since totaled 267 games and 154 points. That includes 42 points in 43 AHL games this season, a mark that ties the 26-year-old for fifth in the AHL in scoring. It’s not clear whether Gignac is set for extended time on the NHL roster, though he’s having a hot enough year to push for a spot on a Montreal team that’s played one forward down as of late.