The offer sheet is back in the NHL conversation, and that alone changes the temperature around restricted free agency. The New Jersey Devils have already gone after Utah Mammoth RFA Barrett Hayton with a one-year, $4.775 million offer sheet, while the Philadelphia Flyers turned heads by giving Leo Carlsson a five-year deal worth $18 million annually. However those situations play out, the message is clear: general managers are willing to get aggressive.
That opens the door for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens. With cap space, a young core, and a window that is just starting to open, Montreal has the kind of setup that could make an RFA gamble worth exploring. An offer sheet is never the easy route, but there are a few names that fit what the Canadiens need.
Simon Edvinsson is the one that jumps out first. The Detroit Red Wings defenseman checks a lot of boxes for Montreal at 6-foot-6 and 222 pounds, especially with Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson already handling so much of the puck-moving load from the blue line. What the Canadiens could use next to that pair is a big, mobile defender who can shut things down, and Edvinsson fits that profile cleanly.
At 23, he is already playing more than 22 minutes a night against top competition, and he is contributing at both ends of the ice. His skating stands out because of how well it works for a player his size, and he has shown he can take on elite forwards while still moving the puck efficiently.
A deal in the neighborhood of the one Jackson LaCombe got, around $9 million per season, would likely be enough to land him on an offer sheet. Under the current compensation rules, Montreal would have to part with a first-, second-, and third-round pick. For a player with Edvinsson’s age, upside, and current impact, that is a price the Canadiens could reasonably justify if they want a defenseman who could anchor the group for years.
Not every target has to be a headline grab. Collin Graf would be a much cheaper swing, and one that still addresses a real need. The San Jose Sharks right winger put up 21 goals and 25 assists in 81 games, and the production is only part of the appeal.
Graf also brings a more complete profile. He worked on San Jose’s first-unit penalty kill, which says plenty about how much trust he earned defensively while still giving the Sharks secondary scoring.
Montreal has been looking for more depth offense and more dependable two-way forwards, and Graf fits that lane while staying right in the team’s age range. He would not be asked to drive the attack, but he could grow into a strong middle-six winger who helps in all situations.
Then there is the big swing: Adam Fantilli. This is the least likely path, but also the one that would make the most noise.
The Columbus Blue Jackets almost certainly plan to keep him, and they would likely match just about anything. Still, that does not make the idea pointless.
The Flyers’ move on Carlsson showed that an offer sheet can be about more than simply stealing a player. Sometimes the goal is to force another team into a brutal financial decision. Even if Columbus matches, a massive contract could create real long-term cap pressure.
For Montreal, Fantilli would answer the biggest question on the roster right away. The Canadiens are still searching for a true second-line center, and Fantilli fits that job. He is only 21, but he already has the size, skating, offensive skill, and physical edge to project as one of the NHL’s top centers.
He scored 24 goals and added 35 assists last season, and there is a strong case that his best hockey is still ahead of him. He would line up neatly with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, and Noah Dobson on Montreal’s competitive timeline.
Columbus would almost certainly match, but sometimes the value is in making another club spend big and think hard. If there is even a sliver of a chance to land a player like Fantilli, that is the kind of swing worth considering.
Montreal has the cap space, the draft capital, and the ambition to be bold. Offer sheets are still uncommon, but they are becoming a real weapon again. Whether Hughes goes after a defenseman like Edvinsson, a value target like Graf, or a franchise-changing name like Fantilli, the Canadiens have options if they want to use the RFA market to keep building toward contender status.
In Other News...
Canadiens Delay On Bolduc And Xhekaj Signals Something Bigger Ahead
Montreals offseason to-do list still has some important names on it, and the wait on Zach Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj fits the way Kent Hughes has handled the roster so far. The Canadiens have been careful with their cap space, keeping flexibility while also trying to shape the lineup around bigger moves, and that means even with more than $14 million available, nothing is moving in a straight line.
Kirby Dach is still unsigned too, but Bolduc and Xhekaj are in a different spot because there is no hard signing clock pushing either side into a quick deal. They are not the kind of restricted free agents who scream offer-sheet risk, which helps explain the patience, but the bigger question is whether Montreals pursuit of a top-six forward on the trade market changes the math and forces the club to settle its remaining business sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Prospect Retires At 22 In A Brutal Carey Price Twist
Gannon Laroques path in pro hockey has reached an early end, with the 22-year-old defense prospect stepping away after a career that once carried real promise. Originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in 2021, Laroque had become part of the Canadiens long-range picture, the kind of depth piece teams hope can grow into something more if the development breaks right.
His name also carries extra weight in Montreal because he was one of the assets tied to the Carey Price trade, a reminder that even major deals can have unexpected aftershocks years later. Laroques recent seasons were already interrupted by injuries, and while the Canadiens will move on with their prospect pool, the loss of a young defender this early is another harsh example of how quickly a hockey career can change course. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Just Got Another Reason To Love Lane Hutson's Deal
Pavel Mintyukovs new deal in Anaheim is another reminder of how quickly the market for young defensemen has climbed, and it also gives Canadiens fans a fresh way to look at Lane Hutsons contract. Montreal was among the teams linked to Mintyukov before he decided to stay put, so the comparison is more than just theoretical for a club that has been hunting for blue-line help and watching the price tag on that kind of player keep rising.
Hutsons value only looks better against that backdrop. His production has already separated him from Mintyukovs, and the contract gap feels even wider when the market is pushing upward around them. For the Canadiens, it is the kind of development that makes an already favorable deal look even sharper, even if the broader defenseman market is still leaving plenty of room for more expensive decisions elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]