The New York Islanders traded restricted free agent defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday, a source told ESPN, in a move that could have a huge impact on the NHL draft.
The Islanders acquired forward Emil Heineman and the Nos. 16 and 17 picks in the first round of the draft (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), the source said. It was a sign-and-trade deal for Dobson, who agreed to an eight-year, $76 million deal before the trade, a source said.
New York owns the first overall pick, after winning April's draft lottery, and is expected to select defenseman Matthew Schaefer of OHL Erie on Friday night. ESPN reported Monday that the Islanders were trying to add another high draft choice to potentially select Long Island native James Hagens, the 18-year-old Boston College center who grew up as an Islanders fan. Hagens was projected to go sixth overall in ESPN's latest mock draft.
Dobson, 25, had 39 points in 71 games last season for the Islanders, skating to a minus-16. It was a down year after his breakout season of 70 points in 79 games in 2023-24, earning him eighth place in the Norris Trophy voting for the NHL's top defenseman.
But he and the Islanders couldn't find common ground on a contract. His new $9.5 million cap hit equals that of Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy and New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox for the fifth highest in the NHL among blueliners.
The addition of Dobson continues to signal the end of a long rebuild for the Canadiens, who returned to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in four seasons and were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in five games. He joins 21-year-old rookie of the year Lane Hutson, who had 66 points in 82 games, in the Montreal defense corps.
This is the third time that Heineman, 23, has been moved in a high-profile NHL trade. After selecting the Swedish winger 43rd overall in the 2020 draft, the Florida Panthers traded him to the Calgary Flames in 2021 in a package for Sam Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP earlier this month. Heineman was traded by Calgary to Montreal in 2022 for high-scoring winger Tyler Toffoli.
Heineman has played 66 games in the NHL, including 62 games last season for Montreal in which he had 10 goals and 8 assists while averaging 11:23 of ice time per game. He is currently a restricted free agent.