The Montreal Canadiens shook the draft when they acquired Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders on day one of the annual event. At the end of the season, Kent Hughes had identified two areas of need on his team, and he managed to fix one so early in the offseason, while also managing to have the asset commit to an eight-year contract, which was an absolute coup. Since then, fans have been eager to see what their new blueliner can do, and after a Summer of waiting, the time has come.
The Canadiens may not play their first preseason game for another month, but according to Alexa Dobson’s Instagram account, the player has now arrived in town. The new Mrs. Dobson posted a picture captioned “Last day” and another one showing the couple’s following itinerary: PEI-MTL. Meanwhile, the Habs’ X account is prompting fans to ask them questions for their new blueliner, yet another clue that he’ll be in town to work with.
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The hype for Dobson may not be as high as it was for Patrik Laine’s arrival last season, but fans are still sure to flood the CN Sports Complex in Brossard to catch a glimpse of his first on-ice strides as a member of the Sainte-Flanelle.
The defenseman will wear number 53 with the Canadiens; he wore number 8 with the Islanders, but that number belongs to Mike Matheson in Montreal, a tribute to his grandfather, who died at age 53, seven years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Seven players have worn the number in Habs history; the last one to do so was another defenseman, Victor Mete.
Noah Dobson is now in town #GoHabsGo expect to see some footage of the new acquisition in Brossard in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/F3gBKq2p9d
— Karine Hains (@KarineHains) August 23, 2025
Dobson was the Islanders’ first-round pick at the 2018 draft and the 12th selection overall. The 25-year-old has already got 388 games of NHL experience and has so far gathered 230 points. His most productive campaign came in 2023-24 when he scored 70 points in 79 games, but he could only manage 39 points last season after falling out of favor with bench boss and former Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy.
In his first full season under Roy, Dobson’s ice time decreased by 1:15, and his point-per-game production dropped from 0.89 to 0.55; his career average is 0.59. His power play production was slashed in half, as he only managed to gather 12 points with the man-advantage (compared to 24 a year ago) despite having the same ice time on the power play. The Islanders had the second-to-worst man advantage in the league with a 12.6% success rate, just ahead of the Anaheim Ducks.
It will be interesting to see how Martin St-Louis chooses to use Dobson and where he slots in on the Canadiens’ power play. It seems unlikely that Lane Hutson will be removed from the top unit, and with the kind of firepower the Tricolore will have up front with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Patrik Laine, it’s doubtful that the coach elects to use two blueliners on the top unit. Still, the second wave should be much more threatening than it was last season, and could provide Dobson plenty of opportunities if he does land on it.
Whichever way the pilot decides to use him, though, his arrival should help alleviate some of the pressure on Hutson and Matheson, which should benefit them both immensely. That’s particularly true for Matheson, who had a tough season last year, spending over 25 minutes per game on the ice, making him more prone to commit mistakes. The veteran’s role changed tremendously with Hutson’s arrival, and it should keep morphing with Dobson’s. It will be interesting to see how the Pointe-Claire native handles that in what will be a contract year for him. According to TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau, Matheson is a player often mentioned when he asks Canadiens’ players who has played a mentor’s role for them. It goes to show how much goes on behind the scenes, and if Montreal elects to sign him to another contract, that mentor role will no doubt have something to do with it.
Dobson had a whirlwind of a summer with the trade at the end of June, a wedding days later, and moving into his new custom-made house in Prince-Edouard-Island with his wife, Alexa. The eight-year pact he signed will, however, provide him with stability for years to come in Montreal, and he comes to town with a friend waiting for him in Captain Suzuki, who he played with at the 2018 World Junior Championship.
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