Montreal Canadiens prepare for first day of Free Agency

On the morning of Free Agency, seeing what moves the Montreal Canadiens will make will be interesting.

Four players remain without a qualifying offer from the Habs: right-wing Jesse Ylönen, centre Lias Anderson, left-wing Filip Cederqvist and defenceman Mattias Norlinder. Ylönen appeared in the most games for the Habs last season out of the four players. The 24-year-old right winger played in 59 games throughout 2023-24, scoring four goals and four assists for the team.

Defence is likely not a position the Canadiens will pursue after. In a move to clear up space along the blue line, Montreal traded defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 draft, as announced by the team on Sunday. Kovacevic tallied six goals and seven assists through 62 games last campaign.

The desire, however, to keep defencemen Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron was proven last night when the two received qualifying offers from the team. Xhekaj registered ten points in 44 games for the Canadiens, while Barron totalled seven goals and six assists in 48 games for the bleu-blanc-rouge.

It was reported Sunday morning that the Canadiens would pitch to veteran forward Patrick Kane on Monday. That plan has since been squashed following the Red Wings extending Kane on a one-year contract that totals $6.5 million with bonuses, as reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman .

There are plenty of potential targets who remain for the Habs. Notably, veteran star Steven Stamkos is slated to test the market. If Kane was a dead end, could Stamkos be the avenue the Canadiens take?

The Canadiens have roughly $10,180,147 in cap space without factoring in long-time injury reserve listings.