The Canadiens made a pair of notable roster moves on Monday, but the one that really turned heads came when they sorted out their restricted free agents.
Montreal extended qualifying offers to eight players, a list that included three recent additions in Maksymilian Szuber, Jared Davidson, and Brett Berard, along with three players from last season’s Canadiens roster in Zach Bolduc, Arber Xhekaj, and Kirby Dach. Sean Farrell and Hunter McKown, who spent most of the season in Laval, were also among the group.
The surprise was Dach. Montreal qualified him at $4 million, a move that effectively eats up the salary cap room created by the Brendan Gallagher trade to the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the day. Bolduc and Xhekaj together accounted for roughly another two million.
That decision stands out because Dach’s season was limited to 37 games because of injuries, and over the last four seasons he has appeared in only 154 games. His point total has also dipped, falling from 38 points in his first year in Montreal in 2022-23 to 15 this past season.
Whether the Canadiens actually plan to keep Dach long term is still unclear. One possibility is that they used the qualifying offer as a way to preserve his rights while exploring a trade this offseason.
The other notable omission was Joe Veleno. He will now become an unrestricted free agent after not receiving a qualifying offer.
That decision was not easy to project, especially given that Veleno’s qualifying offer would have been much smaller. He also showed enough at times to make a case for staying, and in his first season in Montreal he played 61 games as a useful fourth-line option.
Not qualifying Veleno does not shut the door on a return, but it does mean that starting July 1, he can sign with any team. It may also point to Montreal believing there would be more interest in Dach, and that keeping Dach qualified could help them get something back in a trade.
Either way, the Dach call is the riskier one, and it leaves the Canadiens with a decision that will be worth watching all offseason.
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Canadiens Just Made A Roster Call Fans Will Debate Into July
The Canadiens spent the day sorting through a familiar June task, issuing qualifying offers to a batch of restricted free agents as they begin shaping next seasons roster. Brett Berard, Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, Jared Davidson, Sean Farrell, Hunter McKown, Maksymilian Szuber and Arber Xhekaj all got their offers, a sign Montreal still sees enough value in keeping those rights in house while the front office keeps its options open.
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