- Rival teams have asked the Canadiens about Adam Engstrom all summer
- Montreal is open to a deal but puts a steep price on the 22-year-old
- Read below for the blue line crunch that has him stuck behind five names
Rival NHL teams have spent the summer calling Montreal about Adam Engstrom, and the Canadiens have been willing to pick up.
Arpon Basu of The Athletic laid out where the 22-year-old defenseman’s name has landed this offseason, as relayed by Pro Hockey Rumors.
“It is no secret Engström’s name is floating around out there. Teams have asked about him in trade discussions, and the Canadiens are open to those discussions.”
Nothing has come of it yet, and Basu explained the holdup.
“Engström has yet to be traded, largely because the Canadiens see him as having considerable value. That is, in part, due to the fact teams are enquiring about his availability, but it is also because the Canadiens feel Engström could help their blue line.”
Montreal’s problem is that the blue line is already crowded. Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle and Alexandre Carrier take up the top five spots in some order.
That leaves Engstrom fighting Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, Maksymilian Szuber and 2023 fifth overall pick David Reinbacher for a third-pairing job or a seat in the press box.
Kent Hughes has been working that same group from the other end all summer. Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc have both come up as sign-and-trade chips for a Canadiens team that still hasn’t made its big swing.
The interest tracks once you look at last season in Laval. He led Rocket defensemen in scoring with 10 goals and 34 points in 45 games, and he does most of his damage skating the puck out of trouble.
His first NHL work came along the way: 15 games with the Canadiens and an assist.
Take a look at a full reel of his 2025-26 season:
Montreal took the Swede 92nd overall in 2022 and has watched him climb from the SHL to 61 points in 111 AHL games. He turns 23 in November, enters the final year of his three-year contract, and becomes a restricted free agent next summer.
He either skates his way onto the roster this fall or Hughes finally takes one of those calls.
