Note: These transactions all took place before October 14th, 2025, so this list does not include the acquisition of Phil Danault and the signing of Alexandre Texier.
5. Trading for Zack Bolduc
During Free Agent Frenzy – or Canada Day as most people call it – GM Kent Hughes sent 2021 1st-rounder defenceman Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues for forward Zachary Bolduc. So far, Bolduc has shown he is a lean, sharp-shooting winger who can also provide some physicality. Although his play has been up-and-down to begin his Habs tenure, Zack’s 10 goals and 18 points so far this season show promise that he can provide Montreal a secondary scoring touch that they so desperately need.
4. Drafting Alexander Zharovsky
18-year-old Alexander Zharovsky finished December with a point-per-game pace (11 PTS, 11 GP) and for the 3rd time this season was named KHL Rookie of the Month! pic.twitter.com/Vlsca54bAq
— KHL (@khl_eng) January 1, 2026
After both of the Habs’ first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft were dished to the Islanders in the Dobson deal, Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton, and the management team did not have a pick until 34th overall. They ultimately decided on Alexander Zharovsky, a right-wing sniper from Ufa Tolpar of the MHL in Russia. A Russian native -- just like our boy Ivan Demidov -- Zharovsky has 33 points in 39 games in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) this year. To save you the math, he is on pace for 50 points in 59 games, which would eclipse Ivan’s 49 points in 65 games from last season in the K.
3. Making Oliver Kapanen a Full-Timer
This kid’s a stud. Kappy has gone from 2 points in 18 contests last year on the fourth line to the power play, penalty kill, and now a 2nd-line centre after Alex Newhook’s injury. Everyone was calling on Hughes and Gorton to scoop up a powerhouse centre, and while that might still be true, the 22-year-old Kapanen has been a smashing addition to the NHL’s youngest team.
Every Habs fan should be itching to see Olly perform at the Olympics next month, who also currently leads the entire NHL in goals scored by a rookie with 16.
2. Dobson Sign-and-Trade
4 days before the Isles drafted Matthew Schaefer with the first overall pick of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, GM Mathieu Darche (former Hab) & company traded their other top-pairing blueliner, Noah Dobson, to le Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge. While it did end up costing both of the Habs’ first round picks and fan-favourite Emil Heineman, #53 has been the rock the Canadiens needed on the back end to propel them to a possible division title, all for less than $10 million per year.
1. The Hutson Contract
$8,850,000. $8.85 million. $70.8 million over 8 years – whichever way you want to put it, this is a heck of a deal to get our Calder Trophy winner and potential franchise defenceman locked up until AT LEAST 2034. The 21-year-old is breaking records at a tremendous pace, including becoming the first Canadiens defenceman to reach 100 career points before turning 22.
Just in case not everyone is keeping track, Les Habitants also own control of Nick Suzuki until 2030, Cole Caufield, Mike Matheson, and Kaiden Guhle until 2031, and Noah Dobson and Juraj Slafkovksý until 2033.
What do you think is the best move Hughes & Co. have made recently? Would you change the order of the 5 above? Let us know below.