Trade grades: Report cards for Canadiens, Islanders for the draft-day Dobson deal

Defenseman Noah Dobson was at the center of a trade Friday between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders with the idea both franchises are heading in different directions.

The Canadiens got Dobson after he'd signed an eight-year contract extension worth $9.5 million annually with the Islanders Friday. New York got forward Emil Heineman and both of the Canadiens' 2025 first-round picks, No. 16 and No. 17.

Here's how both front offices performed and what it means for each side going forward.

Montreal Canadiens
Grade: A

If there's an opportunity to get a 25-year-old, right-handed shooting, top-pairing, puck-moving defenseman that can play in every scenario -- who is also packaged in a 6-4 frame -- that's a move a GM should make.

But, it's done with the full understanding that it's going to cost quite a bit, and that's what makes the decision by Canadiens GM Kent Hughes one that's rather emphatic because of what it signals about his team.

Specifically, the Canadiens are serious about making their 2025 playoff appearance a regular occurrence, with the goal of winning a Stanley Cup at some stage in the near future.

Future. That's the word which is at the heart of what this trade represented for the Canadiens. Having two first-round picks is a benefit. For a team in a rebuild, it's a chance to build toward what they believe is a stronger future, while playoff teams -- or those on the cusp -- use them as trade chips to acquire someone who can make them better now.

Hughes took the latter option with this deal, and it provides the Canadiens with what appears to be one of the more enticing young defensive setups in the NHL.

Dobson, who has scored 10 or more goals in four straight seasons, adds to a group of young Canadiens' defensemen that includes reigning Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle and Jayden Struble. The Habs also have recent first-round picks Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher in their system.

That's six defenseman all younger than 25. Four of them are first-round picks, while the remainders were second-round selections (including Hutson). This is what's called a problem. Or rather, it has the potential to create a problem because of what that collection could achieve over time.

But then there's the actual "problem" facing Hughes now that he has Dobson under contract, in that the Habs are now $3.394 million over the salary cap (per PuckPedia), while having seven defensemen under contract or team control for 2025-26.

It's going to force Hughes to decide which defenseman the Canadiens move on from to clear cap space, while also having the necessary group to make the aforementioned playoff push. Veteran Mike Matheson has one year left on his contract at $4.88 million before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, while Alexandre Carrier has two years remaining at $3.75 million annually before he hits the open market.

Getting that situation handled sooner rather than later not only allows the Habs to gain more financial flexibility should they want to do more, but they also have a pair of RFAs in Struble and Jakub Dobes who are in need of new deals.

New York Islanders
Grade: A

New Islanders GM Mathieu Darche spent six seasons in the Tampa Bay Lightning's front office, allowing him to appreciate the value of certain items. One of them is the value of building a long-term winner through the draft.

GMs running lottery teams need to have a level of honesty and understanding about the direction of their franchise. That's what makes anything the Islanders do in Darche's first offseason even more critical.

That's not to say that Dobson couldn't have been part of those long-term plans on Long Island. But there's also something to be said for identifying the strongest possible value a player has for your franchise, and determining that this value is greater with a return like one that Darche got here.

What Darche received in exchange for a top-pairing defenseman in Dobson will play a significant role in shaping the Islanders for the next decade, if not longer.

Having the No. 1 pick was a starting point toward that future -- and it's likely he'll add talented defenseman Matthew Schaefer with that pick. But by now adding two more first-round picks, he has even more options.

Darche and his staff may decide that they want to keep both picks they acquired from the Canadiens, and draft three players. After all, they would be adding more to a system that, despite having 2024 first-rounder Cole Eiserman, is in distinct need of talent. Part of the reason for that is that the Isles have had four draft classes since 2018 (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) in which they did not have a first-round pick.

Or does Darche look to repackage one or both of those picks in another trade, with the hope of doing something else he and his staff believe can set them up for even greater success over the long term?

Although the future is in focus, there's also something to be said about the present and what it means now that Dobson is gone. The Islanders now have five defensemen under contract, and seven who are under team control with a pair of pending RFAs in Scott Perunovich and Alexander Romanov. Tony DeAngelo and Mike Reilly are UFAs from the 2024-25 roster.

The Islanders have $20.934 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), which can be used to address their defensive needs along with whatever else they need to handle this summer; that includes re-signing Heineman, who is an RFA after scoring 10 goals and 18 points in 62 games during his first full NHL season.