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Montreal Canadiens News
Bolduc (lower-body) is questionable for the Canadiens' season opener.

Bolduc missed Friday's practice and Saturday's preseason finale and is considered day-to-day as the regular season approaches. For now he's considered questionable to play in the season opener on Wednesday. Expect Joe Veleno to replace him in the lineup if Bolduc can't play.

Zack Bolduc
Demidov (wrist) won't miss any time, will play in the Canadiens' season opener.

Demidov left Tuesday's game with a wrist injury, but the Canadiens said he was pulled for "precautionary reasons." Demidov was also held out of the lineup for Saturday's preseason finale, but there's no concern for his availability for the season opener on Wednesday.

Ivan Demidov
Dobson (groin) played in Saturday's preseason game, setting him up to play in the Canadiens' season opener.

Dobson returned to the Canadiens' lineup in Saturday's preseason finale after suffering a groin injury vs. Toronto on September 25th. Dobson, who was acquired in a big trade with the Islanders this offseason, is expected to open the season on a pair with Mike Matheson.

Noah Dobson
Bolduc did not practice on Friday and is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Bolduc was acquired by the Canadiens in the offseason and his team debut might have to wait, as he is day-today with a lower-body injury. Bolduc is a 22-year-old right-winger who was drafted in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. Across 72 games with St. Louis in his first full season in 2024-25, he had 19 goals, 36 points and a +20 plus/minus.

Zack Bolduc
Demidov (wrist) left Tuesday's preseason game vs. Ottawa and did not return.

With Montreal off on Wednesday, Ivan Demidov's injury update will have to wait until Thursday after the 19-year-old prospect left Tuesday's preseason game vs. Ottawa following a slash from Nick Cousins. Demidov is the current favourite to win the Calder Trophy after putting up 19 goals and 49 points in SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) last season.

Ivan Demidov
Reinbacher (broken metacarpal bone) will miss four weeks.

The Canadiens' fifth-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft has battled injuries early in his professional career and will be sidelined again to start the 2025-26 season. The 20-year-old defenseman has yet to play an NHL game and was limited to only 10 contests with the Laval Rocket in 2024-25, scoring five points (2G / 3A).

David Reinbacher
Montreal has acquired Gannon Laroque from San Jose for the rights to Carey Price and a 2026 5th round pick.

Montreal shed Carey Price's $10.5 million contract alongside a 2026 5th round pick and acquired a 22-year-old Gannon Laroque from San Jose. Laroque was San Jose's 2021 4th-round pick (103rd overall) and spent his first pro season injured, playing only 18 total games between San Jose (AHL) and Wichita (ECHL) last season. He is expected to report to Laval for the 2025-26 campaign.

Gannon Laroque
The Canadiens have signed Jayden Struble to a two-year deal worth $1.4125M AAV ($2.825M total).

Struble has appeared in 56 NHL games in each of the last two seasons, most recently posting 13 points (2G / 11A), 124 hits and 54 blocks in 2024-25. Struble became a reliable partner for rookie Lane Hutson, posting a 60.7 xG% together, the best of any Canadiens' pairing. Entering 2025-26, Struble will likely be in the mix to be the No.6 defenseman, and his strong play alongside Hutson last season should give him the upper hand.

Jayden Struble
Montreal has signed Joe Veleno to a one-year, $900,000 contract.

Velno was bought out by the Seattle Kraken a few weeks ago and has found a new home in Montreal after agreeing to a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Canadiens. The 25-year-old forward was once Detroit's 2018 first-round pick (30th overall) and has spent the last five seasons in the NHL, splitting time between the Red Wings and Blackhawks. He appeared in 74 games between Chicago and Detroit in 2024-25, picking up eight goals, 17 points and a -23 plus/minus.

Joe Veleno
Montreal has signed William Trudeau to a one-year, two-way contract.

Trudeau turned pro in 2023 and has played three straight seasons with the Laval Rocket. Most recently, the 22-year-old defenseman had five goals and 14 assists (19 points) in 68 games. With a loaded blueline in Montreal, Trudeau's path to NHL games is difficult.

William Trudeau
Montreal has signed Marc Del Gaizo to a one-year, two-way contract.

Injuries on Nashville's blueline last season helped Del Gaizo become a lineup-regular for the first time at the NHL level, scoring nine points (2G / 7A) in 46 games. The 25-year-old defenseman has primarily played in the AHL, including scoring 12 points (8G / 4A) in 30 games with the Milwaukee Admirals last season.

Marc Del Gaizo
Montreal has signed Sean Farrell to a one-year, two-way contract.

Farrell was Montreal's fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. The 23-year-old played six games for the Canadiens in the 2022-23 season but has exclusively played in the AHL since. He scored 44 points (20G / 24A) in 67 games with the Laval Rocket (AHL) last season.

Sean Farrell
Montreal has signed Nathan Clurman to a one-year, two-way contract.

Clurman made his NHL debut last season, playing one game with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and has signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Montreal Canadiens. The 27-year-old Clurman scored 11 points (2G / 9A) in 31 games from the blueline with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) last season.

Nathan Clurman
The Canadiens have signed Kaapo Kahkonen to a one-year deal worth $1.15M AAV.

Kahkonen had a one-game stint with the Colorado Avalanche early in the 2024-25 season when they were experimenting with goalies, but failed to impress and spent the remainder of the season in the AHL. The 28-year-old goalie had a 2.30 GAA and .906 SV% in 12 games (8-4-0) with the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) last season. His last campaign as a full-time goalie on an NHL roster was in 2022-23 with the San Jose Sharks when he posted a 3.81 GAA and .895 SV% in 31 games (6-20-3). He will likely be third on Montreal's depth chart behind Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes.

Kaapo Kahkonen
The Canadiens have acquired Zack Bolduc from the Blues for Logan Mailloux

Montreal and St. Louis completed a one-for-one prospect swap just hours before the Free Agency window after they agreed to trade forward Zack Bolduc for Logan Mailloux. Bolduc is a 22-year-old right-winger who was drafted in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. Across 72 games with St. Louis in his first full season in 2024-25, he had 19 goals, 36 points and a +20 plus/minus.

Zack Bolduc
Seattle has placed Joe Veleno on unconditional waivers for the purposes of a buyout.

After being acquired from Chicago earlier in the week (for Andre Burakovsky), Joe Veleno has been placed on unconditional waivers by Seattle for the purposes of a buyout. The 25-year-old forward is in the 2nd year of a 2-year, $4.55 million contract and will incur a hit of $2,275,000 AAV in the 2025-26 season.

Joe Veleno