The rumor mill produced a real deal this time around, as Noah Dobson was traded from the New York Islanders to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Emil Heineman and picks No. 16 and 17 in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Dobson is coming off a three-year contract during which he was paid $4 million annually. But the asking price became too high for the Islanders to keep him, as he signed an eight-year extension earning $9.5 million each year with the Canadiens. That price puts him on the same level as Adam Fox, Seth Jones and Charlie McAvoy, to name a few.
Montreal was in a tough spot leading up to this trade in terms of defense. The team needed a replacement for reitred defender Denis Savard, while prospects Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher are still on the bubble of graduating to the NHL roster.
Dobson fits those needs in a big way. He plays primarily on the right side, meaning he can play alongside up-and-coming blueliner Lane Hutson who is more comfortable on the left. The Calder Trophy winner racked up 66 points in 82 games during his rookie season, and will benefit greatly from skating with a defender that has a similar offensive mindset like Dobson does.
But there's another viable partner in rookie Ivan Demidov, who skated in his first six NHL games during the regular season and playoffs this year. The 19-year-old had a goal and an assist in his big league debut and figures to be a major piece in the Habs lineup going forward. With Demidov, Hutson, and even Kaiden Guhle to round out the top six, Dobson fills the hole of needing a slightly more tried and true but also smooth-skating blueliner to hold down the group.
The pairing with the most minutes for the Canadiens this season, Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier, had a Corsi-for of just 39.8% at all strengths during the regular season. Meanwhile, the Islanders had a team-wide 56.0 CF% with Dobson on the ice. He controls and carries the puck with efficiency, something the Habs had to improve greatly on the back end.
The one big piece of baggage that Dobson comes with is his tendency to turn over the puck. But Montreal ranked 16th in goals this season with 2.96 per game. If Dobson can produce more offense for the team, it could cancel out the potential chances going the other way due to a few giveaways.
Noah Dobson, ladies and gentlemen.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) June 27, 2025
(the rumours of his defensive collapse have been greatly exaggerated) https://t.co/nhoZOpmoNE pic.twitter.com/Miv5mBZqSu
Since his first full-length NHL season in 2021-22, Dobson has been blossoming and growing into his role as a top-pairing defenseman. He’s averaged 22:23 TOI/GP over the last four seasons and in that time has emerged as a skilled puck-moving blueliner with a strong offensive upside.
Dobson had a breakout year in 2023-24 tallying a career-high 70 points, though his production fell to its lowest rate in four years with just 39 points this season. But the lower total does not translate to worse play -- it’s worth considering that the Isles scored 23 fewer goals this season compared to the team that made the playoffs last year.
Still, Dobson has a lot to offer the Canadiens. The 25-year-old plays big minutes, surpassing the 24-minute mark in 26 different games this year. He is more of a power play quarterback than a penalty killer, leading all Islanders with 3:00 TOI/GP on the man advantage this year. That's huge for a Montreal squad that ranked 21st in the power play at 20.1%.
The addition of Dobson could be just what the Canadiens needed to get over the hump and make a deeper playoff run next season.