The Montreal Canadiens have signed Riley Kidney to a three-year entry-level contract the team announced Wednesday. The contract carried a cap hit of $859,167 with a total value of $2.775M. The deal runs from 2022-23 to 2024-25 however can slide if Kidney does not play in 10 NHL games.
The Canadiens have agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract (2022-23 to 2024-25) with forward Riley Kidney.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/W9pdoEqGrV
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) May 4, 2022
Habs Sign Riley Kidney
Kidney was selected by the Habs in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft from the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titans. Kidney joins fellow 2021 Habs draftee and QMJHLer Joshua Roy to sign an entry-level deal with the club.
The 19-year-old finished the season ranked seventh in QMJHL scoring with 100 points (30 goals and 70 assists). It was quite a jumping production in his D+1 season although he was showing signs of improvement in his draft year as well.
He was on a near-point-per-game pace (13 points in 15 games) before the league shut down at Christmas last year because of the COVID pandemic. When the league restarted in March of 2021, Kidney didn’t miss a beat scoring 25 points ( 7 goals and 18 assists) in the final 18 games of the season. He maintained his strong play into the playoffs by scoring 17 points in nine playoff games.
Since being drafted 11th by the Titan in 2019, Riley Kidney has scored 171 points (48 goals and 123 assists) in 158 games in the ‘Q’. The 5’11, 173 pound center from Halifax will look to impress at Habs training camp in the fall.
What This Means for the Future
The Habs are entering a rebuilding period under the new management team of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes. With the team looking to get younger there should be more roster spots available than in past seasons. Riley Kidney would be one of those young players looking to make an impression and put himself on the map to most Habs fans. Despite his breakout, there has not been a lot of focus on Kidney’s season. Kidney has been overshadowed by his draft mate Joshua Roy who led the ‘Q’ in scoring last year. With all of the attention thrust onto Roy, Kidney has flown under the radar to most. Still, with another strong playoff performance and an impressive training camp, he won’t be under the radar for long.
