The Ottawa Senators have managed to keep Claude Giroux in the fold, and they did it with a deal that gives the veteran forward both security and upside. Giroux agreed to a one-year contract with a $2 million cap hit and as much as $5 million in performance bonuses, plus a full no-move clause. The agreement still hasn’t been officially announced by the team, but the message is clear: Ottawa wasn’t letting him walk.
That decision came with plenty of outside noise. Giroux, 38, had drawn real interest from around the league, with reported pushes from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers.
There was also late talk of a possible return to the Philadelphia Flyers before the conversation shifted hard toward staying in Ottawa. The structure of the deal suggests he’ll have a chance to earn more through bonuses tied to games played and playoff success.
In Toronto, meanwhile, the fallout from Mitch Marner’s departure is still hanging around. Former Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube made it plain that Marner’s value went well beyond production.
Marner, who joined the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade last summer, put up another strong offensive season, but Berube said he was also the emotional engine of the group. He called Marner vocal, energetic, and a player who kept pushing teammates to raise their level.
That kind of presence is hard to replace, even for a team that thought it could move on.
Montreal is dealing with a very different kind of roster issue, and Kirby Dach’s case is turning into a tricky arbitration file. The Canadiens gave Dach a $4 million qualifying offer, but he filed for salary arbitration after being presented with a two-way deal.
That matters because it would pay him full salary only at the NHL level, with the possibility of a significant drop if he were sent to the AHL. For a player who has already dealt with injuries and has appeared in just 154 games over the past three seasons, Montreal is clearly using his health history as part of the equation.
Dach’s side is likely trying to force a one-way contract and lock in NHL pay, but arbitration cuts both ways. Analytical projections suggest his market value could land below $4 million, which means the process could end up working against him. It’s a leverage play on both sides: Montreal protecting itself, and Dach trying to secure his place and paycheck.
Out in Anaheim, the pressure is coming from a different direction altogether. The Ducks are in the middle of a growing offer-sheet mess involving Leo Carlsson and the Philadelphia Flyers, and Elliotte Friedman says the dynamic has already shifted away from Ducks management. Anaheim reportedly tried to get ahead of things with a deal in the $12.5 million AAV range before the offer sheet arrived, but the expectation around the league is still that the Ducks will match.
Even so, the uncertainty hasn’t gone away. Friedman’s read was that Verbeek has lost control of his own team, and another report says ownership may have to abandon its usual way of doing business if it wants to match Carlsson and then keep pace with similar deals for the other RFAs. The Ducks may still end up matching, but the ripple effects could be bigger than the one contract in front of them.
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 🡒]