D Arber Xhekaj<\/a> \u2013 Xhekaj showed some potential four seasons ago in his rookie year but things have largely plateaued since then if not gone in the opposite direction.\u00a0 His playing time dropped to just 11:25 per night during the regular season and only 8:06 in the playoffs when he was in the lineup.\u00a0 With just four points in 65 outings as basically an even-strength-only player, he should be in line for only a nominal raise on his $1.3MM qualifying offer.\u00a0 However, with arbitration rights and 246 career NHL games (regular season and playoffs under his belt), he might be able to make a reasonable case to push past $2MM in a hearing if it gets to that point.<\/p>\n F Joe Veleno<\/a> \u2013 Veleno came over last summer via unrestricted free agency after his contract was bought out by Seattle and played a limited role when he was in the lineup.\u00a0 He\u2019s owed a $945K qualifying offer which is certainly reasonable for a fourth liner but it would come with arbitration eligibility.\u00a0 With 367 regular season games over his career, he\u2019d have a fairly strong case in a hearing for a hefty raise, one that the Canadiens won\u2019t want to give him.\u00a0 Either he signs a deal before June 29th or he\u2019ll be non-tendered.<\/p>\n Other RFAs: F Jake Chiasson<\/a>, F Jared Davidson<\/a>, F Sean Farrell<\/a>, D Gannon Laroque<\/a>, F Joshua Roy<\/a>, F Luke Tuch<\/a>, D William Trudeau<\/a><\/p>\n Key Unrestricted Free Agents<\/p>\n F Samuel Blais<\/a> \u2013 Blais was up in the NHL for around half the season after bouncing around on waivers, going to Toronto first and then back to Montreal.\u00a0 He was reasonably productive in limited minutes, notching eight points in 21 games along with 78 hits.\u00a0 He\u2019ll likely be hoping to land somewhere with a shot to stick at the back of the roster.\u00a0 Failing that, his AHL production (38 points in 35 games) should be good enough to secure another one-way contract at a minimum.<\/p>\n Other UFAs: F Alex Belzile<\/a>, D Nathan Clurman<\/a>, D Marc Del Gaizo<\/a>, G Kaapo Kahkonen<\/a>, G Hunter Shepard<\/a><\/p>\n Projected Cap Space<\/p>\n At the moment, the Canadiens project to have a little under $11MM of cap space to work with, enough to re-sign Bolduc and Dach if they want to but not do much else.\u00a0 If they\u2019re able to move the final year and $6.5MM of Brendan Gallagher<\/a>\u2019s contract and deal Samuel Montembeault ($3.15MM), they could be able to become more aggressive on the trade and free agent front in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/USATSI_21665590-210x300.jpg\")
<\/a>F Kirby Dach<\/a> \u2013 The Canadiens acquired Dach four years ago in a three-way swap on draft night with the hopes that they had found the elusive second-line center they\u2019ve needed.\u00a0 Today, they still have that need and there remain plenty of question marks with the 2019 third-overall selection.\u00a0 Over his time in Montreal, he has missed more games (174) than he has played (154) and the results have been inconsistent when he has played.\u00a0 Notably, he\u2019s owed a $4MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to think that they\u2019re ready to give him that but working something out before the June 29th tender deadline that\u2019s a little cheaper could still be doable.\u00a0 Otherwise, it\u2019s fair to wonder if his time with the team will be coming to an end.\u00a0 He is a wild card to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/patrik-laine_canadiens-218x300.jpg\")
<\/a>F Patrik Laine<\/a> \u2013 It\u2019s safe to say that Laine\u2019s addition didn\u2019t work out how Montreal hoped when they added him in the 2024 offseason.\u00a0 After an injury-limited first season with the team (where he still managed 15 power play goals in 52 games), a core muscle injury limited him to just five games this season and plenty of questions.\u00a0 Laine suggested that he was ready to return but GM Kent Hughes indicated Laine had settled into a mindset that he wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0 Either way, the injuries make him eligible to receive performance incentives on a one-year contract.\u00a0 That might be the best option for both sides.\u00a0 If Laine is healthy and productive, he could provide plenty of short-term value in the hopes of landing a richer deal next summer.\u00a0 There\u2019s enough upside that several teams should be willing to make an offer like that with a lower base salary and a few million in incentives.<\/p>\n