The Canadiens’ new Chris Kreider contract has a little more than the base number that was first reported. According to PuckPedia, the one-year deal is worth $2.15 million in base salary and comes with performance bonuses, plus a no-movement clause. Kreider was looking for security closer to home after the abrupt end to his time on the West Coast, and Montreal gave it to him.
There’s also a hefty upside built into the deal. Kreider will collect another $2 million if he reaches 10 games played, along with $250,000 bonuses tied to the 10-, 20-, and 30-goal marks.
If he somehow gets all the way to 40 goals, he’d add another $500,000. That would be a major scoring spike for a player who hit 52 goals once, five years ago.
For Montreal, the fit is a little more complicated than simply adding another winger. Kreider wasn’t viewed as a pressing need, but once he became an unrestricted free agent after being mutually let go by Anaheim three days ago, the move started to make more sense.
At 35, he immediately becomes the oldest and most experienced player on the roster by a wide margin, ahead of names like Phillip Danault, Josh Anderson, and Mike Matheson. That’s a striking marker for a team whose senior group was already built around players still on the younger side.
His postseason résumé stands out even more. Kreider brings 135 playoff games, easily the most among that group, and if he appears in at least 42 games this season, he’ll hit 1,000 NHL games.
That could happen as soon as New Year’s. He’ll also be stepping into a familiar voice in Martin St.
Louis, who was his teammate early in Kreider’s time in New York.
Around the league, Vegas prospect Trevor Connelly left yesterday’s scrimmage against Utah prospects after taking a heavy hit, though the early word is encouraging. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic reported that the 2024 first-round pick should be back before camp ends. Utah prospect Gabe Smith, a 2024 fourth-round pick known for his physical style and listed at 6-foot-4, was assessed a major penalty after driving Connelly into the boards, and the play sparked a fight as Connelly remained down.
The Golden Knights have plenty riding on Connelly. Despite a prospect pipeline that has been hard to build because of the franchise’s aggressive push for a title from day one, Vegas is high on the 20-year-old winger.
PHR’s Gabriel Foley has called him a potential breakout forward, and Connelly’s first full AHL season backed up the buzz: 49 points in 46 games. He is widely considered the club’s top prospect and is expected to make his NHL debut sometime in 2026-27.
And in Washington, retired winger Alex Chiasson has moved into a new role with the organization. Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reported that Chiasson has joined the Capitals as a full-time scout after serving as a consultant last year. The 35-year-old, who was part of Washington’s 2018 Stanley Cup team, was already working rookie camp this weekend.
Chiasson, a Montreal native, was drafted in the second round by Dallas in 2009 and went on to play 651 NHL games. His path to Washington was an unusual one: he joined the Capitals on a professional try-out agreement and ended up becoming part of their championship run in his lone season there. He retired in January 2025 after last playing in the NHL with the Red Wings in 2022-23, and now stays with a Capitals organization that has built a strong prospect pool while still keeping its window open for Alexander Ovechkin late in his career.
In Other News...
Cole Hutson Knows The Capitals Wont Hand Him Anything
Cole Hutson is back around the Capitals this fall with a clearer sense of what lies ahead than a year ago, even if the path is still unfinished. After jumping from Boston University into NHL action last season, he showed enough in a short stint to get attention, and now he is spending rookie camp and informal skates trying to carry that momentum into a full-time role.
Still, nothing has been promised to him, and Hutson seems to know that the hard part is just starting. The Capitals are giving him the chance to push his case, but the next step will depend on whether he can turn those reps into something that makes the decision unavoidable. [Read more 🡒]