The Montreal Canadiens are acquiring defenseman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders and signing him to an eight-year contract worth $9.5 million annually.
The Canadiens' massive splash came on NHL draft day. Montreal had two first-round picks entering Friday at 16th and 17th overall. Both of those picks went to the Islanders, which also had the No. 1 selection in the draft. The Islanders also received Emil Heineman, a 23-year-old left winger who had 18 points in 62 games this past season.
ESPN's Kevin Weekes reported the trade, while Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the contract extension. Friedman and The Hockey News' Stefen Rosner are among those who reported the trade return early Friday afternoon.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the trade during the draft Friday evening, right before the Canadiens were slated to pick at No. 16.
Dobson, 25, was a pending RFA with arbitration rights. The right-handed blueliner had 39 points in 71 games this past season, a drop from years past. Dobson had a career-high 70 points in 2023-24, 49 points in 2022-23 and 51 points in 2021-22.
Dobson is the second defenseman under contract past 2030 for the Canadiens. Kaiden Guhle is the other with an average annual value of $5.55 million. Their defense corps also includes Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson, who's left-handed.
As for the Islanders, they selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer first overall. There was speculation the Islanders would use their two mid-range first-rounders to trade up and select James Hagens, who grew up on Long Island. That ended up not happening, as the Boston Bruins selected Hagens seventh overall.
The Islanders, however, selected Victor Eklund, a left winger who was ranked fourth in Tony Ferrari's NHL draft rankings and eighth on Ryan Kennedy's list. They then selected defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson 17th overall. Not only is he a very physical defenseman, but he also joined the rush on OHL Barrie and produced some offense, with 59 points in 64 games.
The Canadiens are now nearly $3.4 million over the salary cap ceiling, but goaltender Carey Price is expected to go on the long-term injured reserve, which would allow Montreal to exceed the ceiling by his $10.5-million cap hit.