Multiple Scenarios On The Table For Canadiens And Bolduc

Now that Kent Hughes has put pen to paper with Kirby Dach, the Montreal Canadiens only have two remaining RFAs to sign: Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj. In a recent article in La Presse, Guillaume Lefrançois reports that both a two-year bridge deal and a long-term (five years) contract have been discussed so far for the promising forward.

Speaking to La Presse, Bolduc indicated that he’s not worried about the negotiations and is confident the matter will be settled in the coming days or weeks. In the meantime, he keeps busy helping friends with their hockey schools or, like on Friday, attending FlexWork’s camp, making kids’ day as a guest. He recalls his own experiences as a kid, meeting NHLers like Philip Danault and Michael Bournival at his hockey camps and enjoying the experience.

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It will be interesting to see whether Bolduc’s new deal will be a bridge or a long-term deal. Considering he’s only played two full NHL seasons and a single one with the Canadiens, he still has a lot to show, and it definitely feels like he hasn’t reached his ceiling. In his first full season with the St. Louis Blues, he scored 19 goals in 72 games, showing he has a scoring touch. However, he could only get 12 with the Habs last season.

Given his lack of top power-play unit opportunities and the need to adapt to a new team and system, that’s not surprising. In the playoffs, he also showed he could bring much-needed physicality to the lineup, but he ended up playing on the fourth line's wing.

Have the Canadiens seen enough to make a long-term commitment to the player at a cap hit that will feel appropriate to both parties? It remains to be seen. Bolduc is coming off a 12-goal, 18-assist season for a total of 30 points, which is the scoring pace Dach was on with 15 points in 37 games. He signed a $3.6M one-year contract with the team; chances are Bolduc’s contract will have a higher cap hit than that. If it’s a bridge deal, it could be somewhere around $4- $4.5 million; for a longer deal, he may be aiming for a deal similar to the one Mavrik Bourque signed with the Nashville Predators at $5.5 million for six years, even though the former Dallas Stars had a more productive season at 41 points in 82 games.

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