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.

The Montreal Canadiens are reportedly bringing in one of the NHL's most productive right-shot defensemen ahead of the 2025-26 season.

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.