One trade option that seemed to be in play for the Montreal Canadiens was prospect defenceman Logan Mailloux. With Alex Carrier added to the roster last season, Noah Dobson just being acquired via trade, and David Reinbacher (hopefully) a lineup regular in the next 1-2 years, trading Mailloux made sense. They did just that on Tuesday but sending him to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for winger Zach Bolduc:

Bolduc is coming off a successful rookie season with 19 goals and 36 points in 72 games while skating under 13 minutes a game. Mailloux has had a cup of coffee in the NHL but has spent the vast majority of the last two seasons in the AHL, amassing 80 points in 135 games.

What St. Louis Gets

Mailloux turned 22 years old in April so he's approaching the point where he should be looking to break onto an NHL roster. The reason he couldn't crack a Montreal lineup that was depleted of right-shot defencemen was he got absolutely torched in his own zone. While the puck-moving and offensive skills have been on display in the AHL and were evident in his limited NHL action, he was abysmal in his own zone. That area doesn't only need improvement but an entire overhaul if he's going to be an impactful NHL regular.

The good news for Mailloux is he's going to a St. Louis team whose defensive structure made a 40-year-old Ryan Suter playable and revived the career of Cam Fowler. It is the ideal environment for Mailloux to hone the other side of the puck.

The bad news is that with Justin Faulk, Colton Parayko, and Matthew Kessel all signed for the 2025-26 season, St. Louis's defence group is filled (same with the left, too). Kessel has just one year left on his deal, so barring blowing the doors off in training camp, Mailloux is likely headed for another AHL season before really competing for a spot in 2026-27.

What Montreal Gets

Going back to the 2023-24 season, Bolduc has 23 goals in his last 82 NHL games while skating around 13 minutes a game. At 5-on-5, his goal rate in that span is 1.04 goals per 60 minutes, which is a top-50 mark in the league. He did that shooting 16.5%, so beware of the regression there, but he was an excellent goal scorer in Junior, so it's not as if it's out of nowhere.

Importantly, Evolving Hockey has Bolduc with good defensive impacts both in his first season, when he played just 25 games, but also this season in his 72 games. A 97-game sample isn't huge, but it's also good defensive impacts in two separate seasons. If he can do that, while also being a guy that flirts with 20 goals, he'll get a regular lineup role with Montreal.

The problem for Bolduc's fantasy value is where he fits into the Canadiens lineup. With Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov, he's no higher than fourth on their winger depth chart. Coach Martin St. Louis also likes Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson in their checking roles, and Patrik Laine is still on the roster, so it seems a decent bet that Bolduc starts the year on the fourth line. That means his fantasy value won't be much higher than it was in 2024-25, and with all the young winger talent, he'll be in tough to be one of the go-to options even if he keeps improving. This is a situation where it seems like a good trade for Montreal in real life but not for Bolduc's fantasy value.

Who This Helps

David Reinbacher

Logan Mailloux

Who This Hurts

Joshua Roy

Oliver Kapanen