It had to happen. Since the new York Icelanders have surprised everyone by winning the 2025 lottery when they were classified 10th, the future of Noah Dobson has become vague.
The logical winner of this first position? Matthew Schaefer, the Gaucher General that no team can afford to ignore.
And when you draft Schaefer first in total, you know you have to make room.
According to The Athletic, the Islanders would like to extend it in the medium term around 7.5 to 8 million per season. But after a season deemed disappointing and without series, Dobson himself may well prefer a new start. A new challenge. A new city.
This is where Kent Hughes enters the scene.
While the Icelanders tries as best they can to reorganize a defensive that crumbles under heavy contracts (Mayfield, Pulock, Pelech), the CEO of the Canadian sees a historic opportunity to correct one of the only gaps of his training: a real right -of -law and experienced right -of -law to support Lane Hutson and Kaidai Guhle.
Noah Dobson, 25, right -handed, 70 points in 2024. Pile in good age to grow with the core of ch.
The Long Island pressure is huge. Lou wants to save his skin, Patrick Roy wants to build an identity. And rumors have multiplied for 24 hours: Dobson would not be untouchable.
With the foreseeable arrival of Schaefer, the ice time to distribute will melt. And at 8 million on a medium -term contract, Dobson could very well become a luxury that the Islanders can no longer afford.
On the other side, CH has a surplus of hopes and choice.
The famous 16th choice of Calgary, a Logan Mailloux, a Joshua Roy? Everything is on the table to get what we have not yet found internally.
Why Dobson in Montreal makes so much meaning?
Because it is good enough to play 25 minutes per game, without flinching, in all situations. And above all, because the dreams of dynasty go through dominant defenders.
Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, David Reinbacher, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj: suddenly, you just created a wall.
While Roy juggles poisoned contracts and an unforeseen reconstruction, Hughes and Gorton have their hands free. They can hit hard.
And if they do, Dobson could well be the first step in summer of the big maneuvers.
Because this time, it is not an invented rumor. It is not a scenario of a supporter. It is an alignment of stars, an opportunity that cannot be allowed to pass.
-Noah Dobson in Montreal, it is no longer a fantasy.
It has become a real possibility. And everything indicates that this summer, the phone will ring Long Island.
What makes this maneuver even more fascinating is that it is part of an already boiling summer for CH. Rumors around Sidney Crosby, persistent doubts about Patrik Laine …
Kent Hughes will not have the choice of brewing cards.
And Dobson, in this context, appears obvious.
It would not be the first time that a player in the Maritimes has become a figurehead in Montreal. And Dobson has the profile to become the kind of player that supporters love: calm, discreet, efficient and spectacular in his spare time.
It would be a message sent to the NHL: CH is ready to go to the next step. Not in three years. NOW.
And while Patrick Roy is shaping his new team with a first choice at La, Kent Hughes could also strike a shine.
The summer of the big maneuvers is just beginning. And Noah Dobson could be the symbol.
What if it was only the beginning?
Because if Kent Hughes succeeds in snatching Noah Dobson from Patrick Roy while the spotlights are turned on Matthew Schaefer, he has only one blow to play to completely transform the Canadian’s defensive: release Logan Mailloux … to make clear room and build a modern blue line around Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher, Kaiden Guhle and Noah Dobson.
And there, we are starting to speak seriously about the championship.
It is not a frivolous rumor.
It is the type of maneuver that defines a summer.
This is the kind of exchange that we are still talking about in ten years, when the Canadian lifts a banner at the Bell Center and Noah Dobson, a native of Prince Edward Island, looks at the ceiling saying that he did well to go home … through the door of Kent Hughes.
To follow …
