Islanders trade defenseman Noah Dobson to Canadiens
Noah Dobson speaks with reporters as the Islanders empty their lockers at Northwell Ice Center in East Meadow on April 19, 2025. Credit: Jeff Bachner
LOS ANGELES — General manager/executive vice president Mathieu Darche kept maintaining that his priority was to re-sign all of the Islanders’ free agents, including defenseman Noah Dobson. And the pending restricted free agent wanted to remain on Long Island.
But after Dobson was traded to the Canadiens for fourth-line energizer Emil Heineman and picks Nos. 16 and 17 in the first round of the NHL Draft at the Peacock Theater, both sides said Friday night that talks just hit an impasse.
“Conversations started with my representation; we tried to work on finding a deal and staying on Long Island,” Dobson said via Zoom. “That was always the goal at the start. Unable to find any common ground on that. At some point, we just felt it’d be best to go in a different direction and maybe look for a trade.”
The Canadiens promptly signed Dobson, a native of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, to an eight-year, $76 million extension.
The Islanders used the picks on wing Victor Eklund (Djurgardens, Sweden) at No. 16 and defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie, OHL) at No. 17.
The move leaves the Islanders with $20.9 million in space under the $95.5 million salary-cap ceiling.
“The whole negotiation was very amicable, and once we couldn’t get to an agreement, we decided to work together and find a spot for him that he’d be comfortable going and for me to get the best return possible for the New York Islanders,” Darche said from UBS Arena after his first trade as Islanders GM.
Alexander Romanov, Dobson’s former frequent defense partner, also is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights coming off a three-year, $12 million deal.
Dobson, selected 12th overall in 2018, jumped straight from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League to the NHL and recorded 50 goals and 180 assists in 388 games for the Islanders. He had 70 points two seasons ago before slumping to 10 goals and 29 assists in 71 games last season as the Islanders missed the playoffs with a 35-35-12 mark.
“It was a difficult season at times as a whole,” Dobson said. “We struggled to score a lot collectively. Especially earlier in the year, the team dealt with a lot of injuries, a lot of moving parts in and out.”
The trade leaves Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield as the two veteran righthanded defensemen under contract for the upcoming season. Darche could re-sign pending unrestricted free agent Tony DeAngelo, who had four goals and 15 assists in 35 games for the Islanders after returning to the NHL from a 34-game stint in the Russian KHL.
Heineman was a second-round pick of the Panthers in 2020 who came to the Canadiens through a 2022 trade with the Flames. He also is a pending RFA — without arbitration rights — coming off his three-year, $2.7 million entry-level deal.
Heineman skated mostly in a bottom-six role for the Canadiens and is a strong forechecker and defender.
“We pushed until the end for him to be in the trade,” Darche said. “We see potential. He’s a strong kid that skates great and he’s got a rocket of a shot.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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