The Montreal Canadiens on Friday announced they agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with Bogdan Konyushkov. The contract begins this season, but he will be loaned back to the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL.
Konyushkov was a fourth-round pick by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2023 NHL Draft and, at 23 years old, has a lot of experience in the KHL. In total, he has played in 263 games with 108 points, but this past season was his best with 38 points in 67 games.
While this move does burn a year of his entry-level contract, as Marco D'Amico notes, it gives the Canadiens flexibility once his season is over in the KHL. Since he is under contract, the Canadiens can then re-assign him to the NHL or the AHL, but if they waited until the season was over, he would have only been able to play in the NHL.
Bogdan Konyushkov will be competing for a full-time spot in 2027-28 with the Montreal Canadiens
Konyushkov has a lot of experience and will be able to gain even more once his season is up in the KHL. This should help him as he could compete for a spot on the Canadiens' blueline in 2027-28.
While the blueline is currently crowded with six defensemen from last year's team still under contract, Arber Xhekaj, a restricted free agent, and prospects David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom are pushing for a spot; it might not be as crowded next season.
The reason being is that Alexandre Carrier will be an unrestricted free agent after this season and Jayden Struble is a restricted free agent.
One of the things the Canadiens could be looking for after this season is some balance for their defense, as right now they have only two (Alexandre Carrier and Noah Dobson) who are right-handed shots. Meanwhile, players like Reinbacher and Konyushkov are right-handed shots, so after this season, they could get closer to the balance they might be hoping for.
With Bogdan Konyushkov signing his entry-level contract, a timeline has been set for him to join the franchise. The Canadiens have now gained a lot of flexibility with Konyushkov, from where he plays at the end of the season to what the Canadiens' blueline will look like moving forward, and that is a win for general manager Kent Hughes.
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