The Montreal Canadiens kicked off July 1st with a surprising trade just minutes before free agency opened. There had been rumours that the Canadiens and St. Louis Blues were in trade talks, but the player was different than the one the Habs eventually acquired. The Canadiens were targeting another Blues winger, Jordan Kyrou, who had an impending no-trade clause that kicked in at midnight on July 1st.
As we had reported before, the Habs and Blues had talked about a larger Jordan Kyrou deal and obviously that didn't come to pass. Kyrou's full no-move kicked in last night at midnight.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) July 1, 2025
Once the deadline for his no-trade clause came and went, the Canadiens and Blues shifted focus and worked out a one-for-one deal. The Canadiens traded young defenceman Logan Mailloux to the Blues in exchange for promising winger/centre Zachary Bolduc.
With Noah Dobson now in the mix and former fifth-overall pick David Reinbacher inching closer to NHL-ready, there was not enough space on the right side of the defence for Mailloux, who seems to be ready to make the jump as a full-time NHLer.
There it is! The Canadiens pick up Zachary Bolduc for Logan Mailloux. Great trade for the Canadiens - dealt from a position of strength to fortify the forward position, where they are losing several to free agency.
— Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) July 1, 2025
In exchange, Montreal is getting a young, promising winger who has played centre in the past for the Rimouski Océanic and Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL. However, I would not expect him to become the Canadiens' future second-line centre, as it has been a couple of years since he last played the centre ice position.
Bolduc can flat-out score. The 2021 17th overall pick, from the same draft class as Mailloux, was unstoppable during his time in the QMJHL.
In 208 games split across four seasons between the Océanic and Remparts, Bolduc amassed 145 goals and 290 points, scoring his junior high of 55 goals in the 2021-22 season. His shot is his best weapon, and we saw glimpses of that in his first full NHL season last year.
In 72 games with the Blues last season, Bolduc had 19 goals and 36 points. For a rookie, those numbers are not bad, as he was trying to adjust to the speed of the NHL game, but he did find his stride late in the season when the Blues were pushing for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
In the final 22 games of the regular season, Bolduc was firing on all cylinders. He recorded 11 of his 19 goals in those final 22 games, doing most of his damage on the powerplay, with six of those goals being on the man advantage. The Canadiens are hoping they get that version of Bolduc when next season kicks off in October.
The truth is, the Canadiens have a surplus of right-shot defencemen and used that to their advantage to fill a position of need in acquiring Bolduc. Bolduc adds some much-needed depth scoring, likely slotting in on their third line for next season. He has the potential to be a top-six winger in the NHL, with a lethal shot that could make him a perennial 30-goal scorer in this league. If all goes well, we may look back at this deal in a couple of years and see it as a steal that helped fortify the Canadiens' forward group for years to come. It was the right deal to make for a team trying to go from playoff hopeful to Stanley Cup contender.