This past season, the Canadiens ended a three-year playoff drought and looked like a team on the rise. With the team on an upward trajectory, general manager Kent Hughes took a big swing ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft. Montreal sent the No. 16 and No. 17 overall picks to the Isles for Dobson, a 25-year-old defenseman with great puck-moving skills.

Instead, Darche’s first trade as Islanders’ GM on Friday was to send Dobson, a 25-year-old right-shooting defenseman who had 70 points two seasons ago before slumping to 10 goals and 29 assists in 71 games last season, to the Canadiens, according to a league source. What assets were returning to the Islanders was not immediately announced.

Montreal is on the rise, with their first stop in the playoffs since 2021. And Dobson will anchor the blue line with Hutson for years, which is a formidable pairing. That said, giving up two first-rounders and a former second-round forward is A LOT, plus the giant extension.