Zach Bolduc’s second season in Montreal is shaping up as a big one, even if the paperwork is still hanging over him for the moment.
Bolduc remains a restricted free agent with Canadiens training camp set to open in less than two weeks, but there’s a strong expectation the deal gets done before things officially begin in Brossard. His agent, Pat Brisson, is also handling Adam Fantilli, another RFA, and that situation is part of why Bolduc is still unsigned.
The most obvious thing to watch is the contract itself. The Canadiens have a familiar track record with players coming off their entry-level deals who still have something to prove, and the expectation here is a three-year bridge deal in the range of $4 million to $4.5 million, especially with the salary cap where it is now.
What Montreal is betting on is the offensive upside that brought Bolduc into the fold in the first place. He finished last season with 30 points in 78 games, after putting up 36 points in 72 games with the St.
Louis Blues in 2024-25, and the raw production doesn’t jump off the page. But the Canadiens acquired him because they believed there was more there.
At 6-foot and 187 pounds, he isn’t a huge winger, but he plays with pace and uses that speed to bring a heavy game.
Last season was also about adjustment. Bolduc was learning the Martin St-Louis way, and that isn’t a simple transition. He bounced around the lineup and spent time with everyone except Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen.
Now that he has a better handle on how the Canadiens want things done, Bolduc should get a much longer run as a possible top-six piece. The first line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky is still intact, and even after a rough playoff stretch, it’s hard to picture St-Louis breaking that group up.
But there may be another path for Bolduc if he ends up alongside Demidov. We’ve already seen how well Demidov clicked with Slafkovsky, and Bolduc brings a similar kind of straight-line pressure: hard forechecking, net-front work and a willingness to make life uncomfortable for defenders.
Demidov’s playmaking could be exactly what unlocks Bolduc’s offense. If that pairing gets a real chance, the Trois-Rivières native could be in line for a breakout year.
At the very least, the expectation is clear: Bolduc should reach 40 points for the first time in his career.
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Montembeaults future is already a talking point because a move before the deadline has been viewed as plausible, and the uncertainty only grows if the Jets decide to shift course. If Winnipeg starts asking around on Montreals goalie, the discussion could widen quickly, but for now it remains all speculation and there have been no confirmed transactions to report. [Read more 🡒]