The Montreal Canadiens have signed undrafted free agent centre Alexandre Alain to a three-year, entry-level contract. This contract will take him through the end of the 2020-21 season. Financial terms have not been released.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract (2018-19 to 2020-21) with forward Alexandre Alain. #GoHabsGo
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 24, 2018
Montreal Canadiens Sign Alexandre Alain
The Montreal Canadiens have signed Alexandre Alain to a three-year entry-level contract. Alain is currently in his fifth year in the QMJHL.
This year he had 44 goals and 43 assists for 87 points in 65 games. He currently has 19 points in 11 playoff games this with the Blainville-Boisbriand Amada. He won the Marcel Robert Trophy and was named to the QMJHL Second All-Star Team.
In five years in the QMJHL Alain has played for the Gatineau Olympiques and Blainville-Boisbriand Amada. Last year, he had 29 goals and 23 assists for 52 points in 54 games. He also added 64 penalty minutes.
What Does This Mean for the Canadiens
Alain participated in both the development and rookie camp on an amateur tryout basis. Alain is 6-foot-2 and 181 pounds. It is no surprise that the Habs have been looking to add centre depth for quite some time now and Alain gives the team another young player to develop. With the Canadiens having taken a look at him earlier this year, they liked what they saw but thought he needed another year in junior. He is most likely to spend a year or two in Laval before getting an NHL opportunity.
This should not change anything about how the Habs attack the off-season and look to improve after a sub-par year. Alain has been a scoring machine down in the QMJHL but the real question will be if he can bring that scoring ability to the NHL level. The Habs have had a few centres from Laval who saw playing time with the Habs this year like Michael McCarron and Byron Froese. Froese was named the first-ever captain of the Rocket earlier this year
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