Kaapo Kahkönen Signs a New Contract with the Canadiens

The Canadiens have reached an agreement with another player in the last few minutes.

After signing Ivan Demidov to a long-term deal and recalling Alex Belzile, the club has signed Kaapo Kahkonen. The goaltender arrived in town on July 1 and will be back for another season.

He spent the year in Laval, and it's likely that a similar role awaits him next year.

Note that Kahkonen's contract is a single-component deal. This means he'll earn the same salary regardless of whether he plays in Montreal or Laval.

Reminder: This has nothing to do with whether or not he is eligible for waivers. But for those wondering, he will indeed have to clear waivers to go to Laval.

The Canadiens have agreed to one-year contracts with forward Alex Belzile and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen.

The Canadiens have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with forward Alex Belzile and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/9lU0xP8Tza

— Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) July 1, 2026

This morning, my colleague Maxime Truman noted that we should expect to see the Habs sign (at least) one goaltender today. The team had only three goaltenders under contract (including Samuel Montembeault, whose future in Montreal is uncertain), which is unusual for the organization.

And given that, bringing back a guy you already know like Kahkonen makes sense.

More details to come…