The Philadelphia Flyers shocked the NHL when they announced they had extended an offer sheet to Leo Carlsson. The Ducks' restricted free agent agreed to a five-year deal with an AAV of $18 million.
Offer sheets are incredibly rare in the NHL, but this is now the second offer sheet agreed to this offseason after the New Jersey Devils tendered an offer sheet to Utah's Barrett Hayton. It isn't overly surprising when considering the lackluster unrestricted free agent class this summer.
For the Montreal Canadiens, they have been busy trying to upgrade their Top 6 but haven't been able to find any trading partners. After the news of the recent offer sheets, it would make sense for them to consider doing the same for a restricted free agent who can upgrade their forwards.
The challenge is that it is a steep price to pay if the original team decides not to match, and it is dependent on the AAV of the offer sheet. According to Puckpedia, the Canadiens can either offer a deal with an AAV over $11.94 million, but it will cost them four first-round picks, or an offer sheet between $2.39 million and $4.8 million, which would cost them a 2027 second-round pick.
When looking at the restricted free agents still out there, these are four that could make sense for the Montreal Canadiens.
Connor Bedard
The big name among the restricted free agents is Chicago Blackhawks' center Connor Bedard, and he needs to be mentioned, but is also very unlikely. Bedard was the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and, in 219 games, has 75 goals and 128 assists.
However, even with him coming off a career season with 75 points, it still feels like he hasn't reached his potential, and whether or not he is able to play up to a player that would have a contract between $12-$15 million per year.
On top of that question, Bedard unfortunately suffered what appeared to be a serious injury during practice this week. It remains to be seen if any teams want to commit to that type of contract without knowing how long he might be out.
While unlikely, there is no question that Bedard would be an upgrade for the Canadiens. The question is whether or not they are willing to offer that contract while giving up four first-round picks to bring him to Montreal.
Jason Robertson
After Connor Bedard, it seems the rest of the league is waiting on what happens with Jason Robertson. He might be the only other restricted free agent that makes sense for the Canadiens to extend an offer sheet with an AAV around $15 million and be willing to part with four first-round picks.
Earlier in the week, it was reported that the Canadiens were a team that Robertson would consider joining. If that report is true, then Kent Hughes needs to take note because there seemingly haven't been many teams Robertson has been willing to agree to go.
Trevor Zegras
While the Flyers were the team to extend the massive offer, they have a restricted free agent of their own that they have yet to sign, in Trevor Zegras. He was the ninth overall pick by the Ducks in 2019 and was traded to Philadelphia prior to last season.
Zegras had a bounce-back season with the Flyers as he had 67 points in 81 games, which was a career high and the most he had since the 2022-23 season. He is only 24 years old and would be a perfect fit to add to the core of young players the Canadiens are adding.
Zegras, though, is a different situation as the Flyers likely don't have the cap space to re-sign Zegras if the Ducks don't match Carlsson's offer sheet. This could be a perfect opportunity to call the Flyers to see if a trade is possible so that it doesn't cost them four first-round picks and a contract north of $12 million.
The Canadiens could still offer a raise over his previous cap hit of $5.75 million and provide a long-term answer on their second line. Zegras could play either center or wing, and that flexibility wouldn't block Michael Hage from making the jump to the NHL when that time comes.
Adam Fantilli
The last restricted free agent that the Montreal Canadiens should seriously consider is Blue Jackets' center Adam Fantilli. He was the third overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and has played 82 games in each of the past two seasons, with 54 points in 2024-25 and 59 last season.
The Canadiens and the Blue Jackets have seemingly been talking a lot recently, but those discussions have been around forward Kirill Marchenko. However, the Blue Jacket's general manager essentially put an end to those rumors when he said that Marchenko would be on the roster at the start of the season.
Kent Hughes shouldn't stop picking up the phone, and pivoting to Adam Fantilli would make a lot of sense. This is another case where it is worth discussing a potential trade because Fantilli probably isn't that top-tier player that warrants a contract with an AAV over $12 million and giving up four first-round picks.
With the discussion heating up around restricted free agents over the past few days, this could give the Montreal Canadiens a chance to address a major need by acquiring any of these four players, either through an offer sheet or trade.
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