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Canadiens Sign Juraj Slafkovsky To Eight-Year Extension

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The Canadiens have signed 2022 first-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky to an eight-year extension, the team announced. The deal, which begins with the 2025-26 season, carries a $7.6MM cap hit.

This is an outcome that wouldn’t have seemed possible just a few months ago.  The 2022 first-overall pick struggled considerably in his rookie season, recording just ten points in 39 games before missing the rest of the season due to injury.  Then, he struggled even more out of the gate last season, picking up only one goal and one assist in his first 15 outings.

While many felt that a trip to AHL Laval would be the best course of action, Montreal basically took the exact opposite route.  Instead of sending him down to play a bigger role with the Rocket, they moved him up to the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.  It didn’t take long for Slafkovsky to find his footing and he wound up finishing the year with 20 goals and 30 assists in 82 games.

Clearly, his performance in the second half of the season was enough to convince management to commit to a max-term agreement, one that buys out Slafkovsky’s four remaining RFA years while adding four more seasons of club control.  The deal is likely to carry some form of trade protection in those final four seasons; he’s ineligible for trade protection in any of his RFA years.

Notably, this price tag comes in below Suzuki’s $7.875MM cost, keeping their internal cap in place for skaters as no one yet is set to make more than the captain (aside from Carey Price’s LTIR contract).  It also keeps Montreal’s top line under contract through at least the 2028-29 season with all three players making below $8MM.

As is often the case with these types of early extensions off an entry-level deal, the price is likely to be on the high side early on in the deal.  However, if Slafkovsky is able to progress and live up to his first-overall billing, the hope for the Canadiens is that this agreement will become a team-friendly one in the end.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canadiens Sign Alex Barré-Boulet

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The Canadiens have signed depth forward Alex Barré-Boulet to a one-year, league minimum contract, TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports. It will be Barré-Boulet’s second departure from the Lightning organization since being claimed on waivers from the Seattle Kraken during the 2021-22 regular season.

It was only two years ago that Barré-Boulet appeared to be one of the emerging prospects in the Lightning organization. In 127 games for Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, between 2021 and 2023, Barré-Boulet scored 40 goals and 147 points without ever getting much of an opportunity at the NHL level. He finally managed to crack the Lightning’s roster this past season but the team was unwilling to use him as any more than a depth option.

In 36 games for Tampa Bay this past season, Barré-Boulet scored six goals and nine points in total while averaging 11:11 of ice time per game. Barré-Boulet played fairly well in the possession game as evidenced by his 14 takeaways compared to nine giveaways and his 52.7% CorsiFor%.

As he returns to his native Quebec, the Canadiens should be able to give Barré-Boulet an increased opportunity in their forward core. Barré-Boulet’s eventual role could be dictated by the situations of Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia. If Montreal is forced to keep both players, Barré-Boulet will likely be subjected to a bottom-six role. However, if the Canadiens can move on from Dvorak and Armia this offseason, Barré-Boulet may see his role elevated into a middle-six option.

Xhekaj Brothers Change Agents

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  • Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj received a qualifying offer today but a new agent will be handling the discussions. Bartlett Hockey announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed Xhekaj along with his brother Florian Xhekaj as new clients.  Arber played in 44 games in his sophomore year with Montreal, picking up 10 points, 125 hits, and 81 penalty minutes while averaging just under 16 minutes a night.  He also played in 17 games with AHL Laval, recording 11 points.  Florian, meanwhile, is a Canadiens prospect and will begin his entry-level agreement next season.

Devils Acquire Johnathan Kovacevic

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The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic from the Montreal Canadiens in return for a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick, per Amanda Stein of NHL.com. Both the Canadiens and Devils have confirmed the move.

The conditions on the draft pick have already been made public, as the Devils will send the best of the three fourth-round picks they currently own in the 2026 NHL Draft. New Jersey owns their fourth-round pick, the Winnipeg Jets’ fourth-round pick, and the Dallas Stars’ fourth-round pick for that draft.

It’s a low-risk move for the Devils as they’ve spent the last 48 hours re-working their defensive core. The team already shipped out defenseman John Marino to the Utah Hockey Club yesterday morning, and have been heavily linked to defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon heading into tomorrow’s action. By adding to a core group of Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec, and Luke Hughes, and factoring in new goaltender Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey is looking to improve upon their 3.43 GA/G average during the 2023-24 NHL season.

As the Canadiens look to graduate several prospects to the majors, Kovacevic became one of the odd men out even though he is set to make $766K for the 2024-25 NHL season. After being claimed from the Jets organization shortly before the 2022-23 NHL season, Kovacevic quickly became a flexible defenseman in Montreal. Effectively averaging 17 minutes of ice time per night during his tenure with the Original Six organization, Kovacevic scored nine goals and 28 points in 139 games while averaging an on-ice save percentage of 90.6%

Kovacevic is likely destined for a bottom-six role in New Jersey regardless of how much the team shakes up their defensive core. However, if the defensive core succumbs to injury for a second straight season, Kovacevic could always move up the depth chart.

Canadiens Select Ivan Demidov Fifth Overall

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The Canadiens have taken star Russian winger Ivan Demidov, who’s fallen past his consensus No. 2 public ranking to Montreal at fifth overall.

The Canadiens organization should be pinching themselves with the reality that Demidov fell to them at fifth overall. Outside of Macklin Celebrini, there was a consensus that Demidov was the most talented player in the draft. However, much like the fall of Matvei Michkov in last year’s draft, it may take some time for Demidov to find his way to North America.

Demidov played most of the 2023-24 season with SKA-1946 of the MHL, a junior hockey league in Russia. With his contract rights owned by SKA St. Petersberg of the Kontinental Hockey League, Demidov should suit up for them as soon as next year.

This season, Demidov showed why he was one of the most dynamic players available in the 2024 NHL Draft with 23 goals and a 60-point effort in only 30 games. In the postseason, Demidov continued to put points on the board with 11 goals and 28 points in 17 playoff games.

There are some questions surrounding his play on the defensive side of the puck, but his offensive characteristics should play nicely for the Canadiens. Even if Demidov spends the next 2-3 years in his native Russia, he projects to be worth the wait for Montreal.

Canadiens, Kings Swap First Round Picks

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The Montreal Canadiens have traded up to pick 21 in the 2024 NHL Draft, sending the Los Angeles Kings picks 26, 57, and 198 in return, per Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period (Twitter link).

Montreal, who also owns pick five, brings their two day-one selections just hours before they’ll take the podium. And they may not be done, per TSN’s Darren Dreger, who shares that the team is interested in finding another way into the Top 10, even if it means moving down from fifth overall (Twitter link). Dreger also mentions that Montreal is involved in player trade-talks as well, potentially opening the team up to an incredibly eventful day as they’re getting settled in to Vegas.

The 2022 NHL Draft marked the first time that Montreal has had two first-round picks since 2007 when they drafted Ryan McDonagh and Max Pacioretty. The team succeeded those picks with Juraj Slafkovsky and Filip Mesar in 2022 – and is now looking to make the most of the pair of picks in a strong 2024 first round. The class features talents at every spot, with players like Cole Eiserman and Berkly Catton bringing high skill to the wings, Michael Hage and Trevor Connelly standing as high-scoring centers, and Carter Yakemchuk and Anton Silayev potential fallers on defense. Even at five and 21, the Canadiens should have plenty of opportuntiy to bring in impactful lineup pieces.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles builds out their pool of future assets without losing too much stock on day one. It will be L.A.’s first time in the first round since 2021, when they selected Brandt Clarke eighth-overall. The Kings now have six picks in this year’s draft, more than they wielded in either 2021 or 2023, though three of their selections come in the sixth and seventh rounds. The Kings could afford some robust additions to their prospect pool, with little to look at besides Clarke and Jordan Spence. That should set the team up to take the best player available at each of their selections, regardless of positioning, as they look to find players who can quickly support their drive back to the postseason. At 25, they could be within reach of hardy forwards like Emil Hemming, Cole Beaudoin, and Jett Luchanko.

Canadiens To Non-Tender Jesse Ylonen

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  • Canadiens winger Jesse Ylonen will be non-tendered this weekend, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 24-year-old played his first full NHL campaign this season but recorded just four goals and four assists in 59 games after putting up 17 points in 36 appearances with Montreal in 2022-23.  His qualifying offer would have cost just over $813K but the team has determined they’re better off giving someone else a chance in that spot.

Sergei Berezin Passes Away At Age 52

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Earlier today, the NHL Alumni Association announced the passing of former player Sergei Berezin at age 52. Berezin, born in Voskresensk in 1971, spent seven seasons in the National Hockey League from 1996-2003.

Berezin started his professional career in his home town of Voskresensk in the early 1990s while playing for Khimik Voskresensk of the Soviet Hockey Championship league. Joining the league as a professional talent shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Berezin was able to play with Vyacheslav Kozlov who was born in the same town as Berezin a year later. Although several former Soviet players defected to the NHL before the collapse of the state; many players still faced harsh difficulties in pursuing a professional career in North America.

Berezin’s time would come, as he was drafted in the 10th round (256th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1994 NHL Draft after becoming a point-per-game player in Voskresensk in the now-defunct International Hockey League. After a brief stint in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1994-1996, Berezin finally made his professional debut for the Maple Leafs for the 1996-97 NHL season.

Typically playing in the middle six of Toront’s forward core; Berezin quickly became a key secondary scorer. In his rookie campaign, Berezin scored 25 goals and 41 points in 73 games earning him seventh place in Calder Trophy voting. In the following four years, all with the Maple Leafs, Berezin would score 101 goals and 179 points in total over 284 regular season games. He contributed well for Toronto in the playoffs with 12 goals and 27 points over 40 postseason contests.

Following his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Berezin bounced around through four organizations over the next two seasons. He experienced some revival during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2001-02 season with 18 goals and 31 points in 66 games — but was largely ineffective during his time with the Phoenix Coyotes, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals.

Berezin retired from the NHL after the 2002-03 NHL season and spent one more in the Russian Superleague with CSKA Moscow. The Russian forward played in 502 games throughout his NHL tenure and scored 160 goals and 286 points. PHR sends its condolences to Berezin’s family and friends.

Canadiens Looking To Trade For Scoring Forward

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  • Another day has passed, which means another team has been directly linked to Martin Necas. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported yesterday that the Montreal Canadiens are looking to add a scoring forward before next Friday’s NHL Draft, and have been looking into Necas and Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. There are several options available to General Manager Kent Hughes heading into the offseason, outside of just Necas and Zegras. Throughout his tenure as General Manager of the Canadiens organization, Hughes has dived much more into the trade market to improve his club rather than bring in free-agent talent.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Jean-Francois Houle Resigns As AHL Laval's Head Coach, Hired By Clarkson University

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  • Just weeks after signing him to a three-year contract, Jean-Francois Houle is no longer the head coach with Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval. The Canadiens announced on Friday that they’ve agreed to mutually part ways with Houle, allowing him to be hired by Clarkson University for their head coaching position.  It’s a return home of sorts for Houle as he played there and also began his coaching career with them as an assistant before moving on to the QMJHL and then the professional ranks.  With free agency on the horizon, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Montreal try to fill this vacancy before the end of the month.

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