The Montreal Canadiens have been in the middle of offer-sheet drama before, but it went slightly better for them than it did for the Edmonton Oilers. The Canadiens offered an offer sheet to Sebastian Aho when he was a pending restricted free agent, which the Carolina Hurricanes eventually countered by stealing Jesperi Kotkaniemi away years later. We can now argue that the Hurricanes might have done the Canadiens a favor with that one, but the same can't be said about the Oilers. The St. Louis Blues took Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg away from them this past offseason, and they have been catalysts for the Blues' playoff push.
This past offseason would've been the time for the Canadiens to strike on an offer sheet. Theoretically, they could've tried to get in on the Broberg and Holloway sweepstakes. The draft pick compensation for doing an offer sheet isn't an issue for the Canadiens, as they already have a deep prospect pool and an abundance of draft picks. Montreal has nine picks in the first four rounds of the 2025 draft, and six in the first four rounds of the 2026 draft. The Canadiens could've used some of those picks to sure up their depth for the future.
The ship already sailed on using some of the draft picks from the 2025 draft, but there is still some room to make moves this offseason.
Noah Dobson
Noah Dobson is a defenseman that Canadiens fans have been asking for, and the Canadiens have a chance to offer sheet him away from Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders this offseason. Dobson will likely look for a deal over $8 million annually, forcing the Canadiens to forfeit their first, second, and third-round picks in 2026.
The issue for the Canadiens is the new Jakob Chychrun contract, which could raise the price. If the number exceeds $9.1 million annually, the Canadiens would have to forfeit an additional first-round pick.
Matthew Knies
The spiciest offer sheet would be Matthew Knies. The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signing Mitch Marner looks unlikely, but if they do, they might not be willing to offer Knies what he is looking for. In the best-case scenario, Knies accepts the offer sheet, and the Leafs decline to match it. Worst-case (or possibly best-case?), the Leafs match a massive deal, and the Canadiens force their rivals into another large contract that could backfire in their quest to improve their depth.
Marco Rossi
Could the Canadiens land their new second-line center from the Minnesota Wild? The Wild have some decisions to make with their cap situation, and Rossi could be the odd-man out amongst forwards looking for raises. The likely scenario is that Bill Guerin kicks the issue down the road with a bridge deal, but Kent Hughes could force his hand.