Canadiens’ Kent Hughes weighs an August RFA bottleneck, looking at how San Jose set a market for Bolduc’s camp

The Montreal Canadiens entered August with two restricted free agents still unsigned, a situation that keeps general manager Kent Hughes and the players’ representatives in active talks as the offseason moves beyond its early deadlines. The two holdouts, per Yahoo Sports, are Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc, both key parts of how Montreal’s forward and defense depth will look once the club finalizes its cap-compliant roster plan.

In a development that Yahoo Sports points to as potentially relevant for Bolduc’s camp, the San Jose Sharks signed a young winger in the past few days. The article frames that move as an “interesting comparable” for Hughes, meaning it could offer a fresh reference point for term and money that other clubs might use when evaluating what a comparable restricted free agent should receive.

Comparables matter in NHL contract negotiations because RFAs generally do not sign in a vacuum. Teams can use recent deals for similar players as internal yardsticks, especially when the league landscape is moving quickly in late July and early August. Even when the players are not identical in role or production, the market movement can influence how quickly negotiations progress, or whether talks widen into broader disputes about valuation.

For Montreal specifically, keeping two RFAs unsigned this late can add urgency to decision-making. Xhekaj’s status impacts the organization’s defensive mix and physical identity, while Bolduc’s status affects the forward group’s depth and the team’s internal balance between established skaters and younger developing pieces. If either contract drags, it can ripple into other planning, including how comfortable the Canadiens are with their training-camp lineup going into the next phase of preseason preparation.

The Yahoo Sports report does not, by itself, provide the full details of what the Sharks deal contains, nor does it confirm any direct effect on Bolduc’s negotiations. Still, the underlying point is practical: when one team sets a reference contract in the same general market window, it can change what both sides view as “reasonable,” which sometimes accelerates or clarifies talks. If a comparable deal lands close to what a player’s camp is seeking, negotiations can move from bargaining toward finalization.

The next watch point is straightforward. Montreal’s remaining RFA agreements, especially Bolduc, will indicate whether the Canadiens are aligning their bids with what other clubs have accepted recently or whether they plan to hold out longer for a more favorable number. The resolution will also report how quickly Hughes intends to lock in the bottom of the roster and the younger talent framework heading into training camp.

Ultimately, late-offseason RFA negotiations are as much about process as they are about numbers. August signings often serve as a market check that can tighten the gap between player expectations and team offers, and that is the context behind the comparison described by Yahoo Sports. Whether the Canadiens can convert that market movement into signatures for Xhekaj and Bolduc will be the deciding storyline in the coming days.