After trading Logan Mailloux to the St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] for Zack Bolduc, Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens]’ GM Kent Hughes wasn’t ready to call it a day and went right back to work to add some free agents to the organization. He signed forward Samuel Blais and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen to one-year, one-way deals. Both spent the last season in the AHL and made it to the Calder Cup final. Blais won it with the Abbotsford Canucks while Kahkonen beat the Laval Rocket in the Conference Final with the Carlotte Checkers but lost in the final to Blais’ team. Canadiens: Logan Mailloux Traded To St. Louis [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-logan-mailloux-traded-to-st-louis] Canadiens: What’s Next for Alexander Zharovsky? [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-what-s-next-for-alexander-zharovsky] Canadiens Did Not Submit A Qualifying Offer To A Few RFAs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-did-not-submit-a-qualifying-offer-to-a-few-rfas] In 51 regular-season games in the AHL, Blais put up 40 points and picked up 44 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he played a significant role in the Canucks’ championship, scoring 19 points in 23 games and accumulating 77 penalty minutes. Blais has played 257 games in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and the New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers], winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues in the 2018-19 season. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Blues at the 2014 draft but was traded to New York along with a second-round pick for Pavel Buchnevich after four seasons with the Missouri outfit. After parts of two seasons, the Blues reacquired him with Hunter Skinner in return for Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola. Last offseason, he signed a professional tryout contract with the Vancouver Canucks and eventually landed in Abbottsford. As for Kahkonen, he bounced around the AHL in the regular season, seeing action with the Colorado Eagles and the Manitoba Moose before landing in Charlotte. He kept an 8-4-0 record with his new team in the regular season with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. In the playoffs, he was 12-6-0 with a 2.18 GAA and a .906 SV. Both players fully intend to win a roster spot with the Canadiens this upcoming season rather than spending the year with the Rocket, so the table is set for some internal competition come training camp. Hughes also signed a pair of one-year, two-way contracts with Alex Belzile and Nate Clurman. For Belzile, it’s a homecoming of sorts since he spent five seasons in the Canadiens organization from the 2018-19 campaign to the 2022-23 season. That offseason, he was able to sign a one-way contract with the Rangers and left, but he ultimately spent the next two seasons in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack. He played 127 games with the Wolf Pack and gathered 106 points. He will bring some much-needed veteran leadership to the Rocket, who saw 27-year-old veteran Brandon Gignac head to Europe to play in the Swiss league. As for Nate Clurman, he is a 27-year-old right-shot defenseman who will fill the void left by Gustav Lindstrom, who departed the organization to sign a five-year deal in the Swedish league. Clurman was drafted in the sixth round by the Colorado Avalanche [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche]at the 2016 draft and has only played one NHL game since then, this season with the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins]. He spent the season in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he picked up 11 points in 31 games. Those who expected the Canadiens to go out and make a splash on the free agency market to find a second-line center will be disappointed. Still, as Kent Hughes said, speaking to the media, that need was never going to be addressed through free-agent signings. These might not have been spectacular signings, but they were necessary signings for the Canadiens. Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwo-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen], never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News.
