A day after trading Cayden Primeau, the Montreal Canadiens replaced him on their goaltending depth chart, adding Kaapo Kähkönen on a one-year, one-way contract. They also signed forward Samuel Blais to the same contract.
Kähkönen’s contract carries a cap hit of $1.15 million. That cap hit is the maximum amount that can be placed in the American Hockey League without counting on the NHL cap.
Kähkönen, 28, is listed at 6’2″, 216 lbs. He spent last year mostly in the AHL in the Winnipeg, Colorado, and Florida organizations. He was 12-6 with a 2.18 goals against average and .906 save percentage for the Charlotte Checkers in the post-season, eliminating the Laval Rocket from the playoffs in the process. He also appeared in one NHL game for the Colorado Avalanche.
He’s likely destined for Laval, where he will mentor Jacob Fowler, the Canadiens top goaltending prospect. He can also provide decent depth in the organization. The Canadiens have lost Connor Hughes and Primeau from their depth chart from the end of last season.
Last year in the regular season he was 14-20-1 with a 2.91 goals against average and .894 save percentage. He also has 140 games of NHL experience and 109 games in the AHL.
Blais, 29, won the Calder Cup with the Abbotsford Canucks last season. He had 14 goals and 26 assists in 50 regular season games and six goals and 13 assists in 23 playoff games. His contract is one-year, $775,000 and is a one-way deal.
He last played in the NHL in 2023-24 where he had a goal and six assists in 53 games with the St. Louis Blues. He is listed at 6’2″, 205lbs.
He will likely provide depth for a Laval team that has already lost Brandon Gignac, and could lose Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Alex Barré-Boulet to free agency.
