The Montreal Canadiens making it to the 2025 postseason was the sign that the tear-down/rebuild portion of the current era was over and it was time to start working on the roster's weaknesses. There are still significant upgrades that need to be made, especially as far as adding veteran, impact players is concerned. The Canadiens took the first step in solidifying their long-term sustainability by trading for defenceman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders and subsequently signing him to an eight-year extension:

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

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 27, 2025

Dobson is coming off a down year with 39 points in 71 games but had averaged 13 goals and 59 points every 82 games in the three years prior. He doesn't turn 26 years old until next year, so this extension runs through his age-33 season.

The Islanders get winger Emil Heineman and both of Montreal's first-round picks in this year's draft. Let's break it down.

What Montreal Gets

First and foremost, Dobson is an offensive defenceman. While his consistent double-digit goal totals stand out (four straight years with at least 10 goals), he contributes to a lot of offensive areas. According to tracking data from AllThreeZones, his percentiles grade out as a number-2 defenceman by rate of scoring chance assists (SCA/60%), offence off the rush (Rush/60%), offence off the cycle or forecheck (Cycle/60%), and rate of zone entries (Entries/60%) over the last two seasons:

While he's not elite in any one of these areas, Dobson is good-to-very good in all of them, and that kind of balanced profile is valuable. On the offensive side of the puck, he has no glaring weaknesses, and that's something that can help the quick counter-attacking style of the Canadiens.

The defensive side of the puck is another matter. Dobson has never stood out as a great defensive defenceman, but going to a team with Alex Carrier and Kaiden Guhle likely means Dobson won't be constantly tasked with shutting down the opposing top lines. There are ways to ease his defensive burden through usage.

The problem for Dobson's fantasy value is the power play. Montreal has Lane Hutson, and barring injury or some improbable decline, the top PP unit is Hutson's. That means Dobson is relegated to second-unit duties, and there's no way he comes close to the 63.4% of PPTOI he earned with the Islanders last season (via Frozen Tools):

We only need to look at Mike Matheson to see how important it is to have a top PP role in Montreal, going from 62 points in 82 games in 2023-24 to 31 points in 80 games in 2024-25. Dobson had just 12 PP points last season while Matheson had 10 as the second-fiddle to Hutson. So, relying on Dobson to exceed 15 PPPs is asking too much and he likely posts somewhere in that 10-14 range.

Losing that top PP time is going to matter a lot. While Dobson averaged 59 points every 82 games from 2021-2024, he did that while averaging 23 PPPs every 82 games. Cut that in half and Dobson goes from someone who can push 60 points (or more) to someone who will be fortunate to crack 50. And there is still the issue of Montreal's secondary scoring not being up to snuff, at least until Ivan Demidov breaks out or the team adds more offensive skill in the middle of their forward group.

Dobson is going to a Habs team where he'll be the clear top right-handed shot option but with Hutson, Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, and Carrier, there are a lot of options for top-four roles. Dobson very well finishes around 23 minutes per game in ice time again, picking up some time at even strength while losing PP time. That is not a good trade for his production.

What this does for Montreal is give them a good, puck-moving, playmaking defenceman who can score and plays the right side. They needed someone like that for when Hutson's not on the ice and that is something that will help their secondary scoring be a bit more proficient. It also gives them some insurance for the power play in case Hutson does suffer a severe injury at some point.

With Dobson and Carrier, Montreal has the right-hand side of their top two pairs filled. Add Hutson, Matheson, and Guhle, and there is one spot left in the lineup. There are prospects like David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux, as well as more established players like Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble. There is only room for one of them and with Xhekaj having another year left on his current contract, this could mean another big chunk of the season either in the AHL or in the press box for the prospects. Training camp will tell the tale, but there are significant impediments to either earning a full-time roster spot.

What New York Gets

Heineman started the season very well for Montreal, scoring 10 goals in the first 41 games while averaging just over 11 minutes a night. Then he got run over by a car, missed a month of action, and had just one goal in the next 26 games including playoffs. He is a gritty bottom-six forward who lays the body and gets to the net. It is the kind of player the Islanders have used frequently over the years, and he will provide some scoring depth if he keeps progressing a bit. He can be a 10-goal, 200-hit guy and that will play in banger leagues. The question is whether he can be more than that, and that's still very much a question.

Dobson's departure gives the Islanders three first-round picks this season, including first overall, and two more first-round picks next year. Five first-round picks with a first overall is a good start to the rebuild, though it's a wonder if they don't use some of that draft capital to go get an established player.

Defenceman Tony DeAngelo is an unrestricted free agent, but this leaves the Islanders with ample cap space (over $20M by PuckPedia's count) and he's a right-shot. Assuming he re-signs with the Islanders, he'll be a lock for top-four minutes with a top PP role. That puts a 50-point season within range, though the Islanders need to fix their power play. It also gives them room to re-sign Alex Romanov while leaving a roster spot for Isaiah George.

Who This Helps

Tony DeAngelo

Ivan Demidov

Alex Newhook

Isaiah George

Who This Hurts

Noah Dobson

Jayden Struble

Logan Mailloux

David Reinbacher