Noah Dobson: Blue Jackets feel they had a better offer

After a fairly intense 24 hours in town, where Noah Dobson was the talk of the hour, the Habs got their hands on the defenseman early this afternoon. It’s a huge coup for the Habs, who get a first-pair right-handed defenseman.

Especially since Emil Heineman, the 16th and 17th picks, don’t come cheap, especially in a year when nobody seems to want those first-round picks.

What we do know, however, is that the Habs weren’t alone in this race. We know that the Blue Jackets, for example, were also in the race right up until the very end.

And this afternoon, we learned what the Islanders asked the Jackets in this matter. Obviously, the 14th and 20th picks were mentioned, but they also wanted an NHL-calibre player and another piece.

As for the Habs, they didn’t have to give up that extra piece: the Islanders wanted the Blue Jackets to beat the Habs’ offer, which didn’t happen.

Told #Isles wanted both #CBJ 1st rd picks (No. 14, No. 20) tonight, a roster player (Dmitri Voronkov was reported by The Fourth Period) and another piece (a prospect? a later pick?) in exchange for D Noah Dobson.

They wanted them to beat the #Canadiens offer, and #CBJ wouldn’t.

– Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 27, 2025

And, of course, all this means that the Blue Jackets come away empty-handed. Although the club felt it had a competitive offer, it’s disappointed to have missed out.

Especially since Columbus seemed to have a better offer than the Habs.

Sense around the league is Columbus felt they made the better pitch for Dobson and are disappointed to have missed out.

I don’t think they’re done trying to make an impactful move this weekend, though.

– Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) June 27, 2025

It’s logical to assume that the Islanders didn’t particularly want to trade Dobson to a division rival, which may explain why more was asked of the Blue Jackets than the Habs. Ideally, we’d probably have preferred to send him out West, but Dobson only wanted to sign long-term in the East.

That said, we also know that Dobson’s preference was to go to Montreal. So we can also wonder whether Mathieu Darche wanted to protect his reputation and honor his player’s wishes, a technique we’ve often seen in Montreal in recent years.

Because in the end, that reputation pays off: Kent Hughes could tell you all about it today.

If the Blue Jackets had made a much better offer, it would have forced the Islanders to consider this one. But since it wasn’t much better than the Habs’ offer, Dobson is in Montreal today.

And no, Canadiens fans won’t complain.

Extension

Incidentally, in the last few minutes, the Blue Jackets completed a transaction: they acquired Charlie Coyle from Colorado.

Not Noah Dobson, but still.

Hearing CBJ trading for Charlie Coyle from Colorado

– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 27, 2025