Zach Bolduc is an RFA who needs a new contract. It will be fascinating to see how Montreal Canadiens' GM handle this case with the ever-changing salary landscape in the NHL.
Kent Hughes has made it a priority to ink his players to new deals early, and so far it has allowed him to secure what could only be described as bargain deals for many of his core players. But the Montreal Canadiens GM hasn’t done that for Zachary Bolduc. Not that he doesn’t plan on signing him; he has given him a qualifying offer, but the young winger hasn’t been with the team for that long, meaning the organization may need to see more out of him before committing to a long-term deal.
Bolduc is not one of the higher-profile RFAs this offseason, and it would be rather surprising if a team were to sign him to an offer sheet. Still, the new deal that Nashville Predators’ GM Chris MacFarland has signed with newly acquired center Mavrik Bourque is likely to have caught the eye of Bolduc’s agent Pat Brisson.
Both Bourque and Bolduc were first-round picks in their respective draft year. Bourque was picked 30th overall by the Dallas Stars at the 2020 draft, while Bolduc was the St. Louis Blues' 17th overall pick in 2021. The former is one year older but has played fewer NHL games; he has skated in 156 games, putting up 66 points in the process, while the latter has featured in 175 games, gathering 75 points along the way.
The Habs’ player has nine more points, but in 19 more games and, unlike Bourque, he cannot play at center. Pivots normally come at a premium, which is likely why the new Predator, who was acquired alongside Ilya Lyubushkin for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-round pick, was able to get a 6-year deal with a $5.5 million cap hit. At the end of that deal, Bourque will be a UFA and free to hit the market.
Meanwhile, Hughes has generally signed the young, unproven players he acquired via trade to bridge deals, such as Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook. With the ever-increasing salary cap, however, could he be tempted to sign Bolduc to a longer deal to keep his cap hit lower than it would be if he performs well in his bridge deal and shows he could be a very good middle-six forward? It would be a bit of a gamble to take so early.
At this stage, Bolduc has put up 30 points in 78 games with the Canadiens, and while he has shown potential, he was a healthy scratch a few times and finished the playoffs on the fourth-line wing with Kirby Dach and Joe Veleno, which was hardly a ringing endorsement.
While Brisson may try to argue that Bourque is a good comparable, one fact remains, there’s not the same buzz around Bolduc as there was around Bourque. It’s hard to imagine Hughes being while to give that kind of money to the Trois-Rivieres native, it’s just too early to know exactly which role he will eventually play in Montreal and where he’ll land on the depth chart.
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