Sometimes, a playoff appearance can give a false sense of security. General managers can take it as a sign that a team belongs in the mix and start accelerating the building process with big-name acquisitions — even if that goes against the grain of a team’s timeline and true contention window.

The Montreal Canadiens didn’t let their midseason turnaround and push for the playoffs detract from the process. But the team didn’t avoid taking swings, either. The Noah Dobson trade is the perfect example of that.

Last year’s playoff appearance showed that the Canadiens are finally turning the corner, and management found a player who can help be a part of that next phase. Instead of targeting someone in the later stages of their prime, or past it altogether, Montreal added a player ready to contribute now and in the long run.

So what exactly does Dobson bring to the Canadiens? Let’s take a closer look.

Dobson was one of seven defensemen to hit the 70-point mark in 2023-24 and finished eighth in Norris Trophy voting. It seemed like he had hit his stride at 23 years old and was going to live up to the hype as a true No. 1 on Long Island.

And then, he took a step back this past season with 39 points in 71 games and fell out of favor on the Islanders. The now 25-year-old is young enough to be a part of the next wave of Islanders hockey, as this team retools under Mathieu Darche. But management instead opted to ship him north to Montreal.

At his core, Dobson still has the ceiling to be a franchise defenseman, and those can be hard to come by. Few make it to free agency or are available via trade; a team’s best bet is to draft and develop a player into that caliber. Add in the fact that he’s right-handed, which is coveted, and his value was still high this summer despite all of last year’s shortcomings — to the tune of two first-rounders, Emil Heineman, and an eight-year contract carrying a $9.5 million cap hit.

Instead of hoping one of those draft picks amounts to a player of Dobson’s caliber, Montreal targeted the real thing. As flawed as his 2024-25 was, there were still positives below the surface worth betting on.

One of the most noticeable improvements from year to year was what a workhorse he became with his breakout ability. According to Corey Sznajder’s tracking at All Three Zones, Dobson emerged as one of the best puck retrievers in the league, with 24.5 per 60. For context, that stacks up to players such as Rasmus Dahlin and Luke Hughes. While there were some mistakes along the way, he still turned a lot of those retrievals into exits to help push the Islanders out of their own zone.

That’s something the Canadiens desperately need more of. General manager Kent Hughes specifically pointed to this element of his game after the trade. Only Mike Matheson and Lane Hutson ranked above league average in defensive zone retrievals, so this should help Montreal get out of its own zone quicker and more efficiently.

After getting out of the defensive end, the Canadiens are getting an active defenseman who can join the rush. He can skate right in and create his own scoring chances.

Dobson’s a mobile skater who can roam around the offensive zone to extend the cycle. He can play a supporting role and buy time for his teammates to get in position, or he can be more active and pinch down low to distribute the puck.

The risk of pinching is getting caught out of position. But he also floats back to the point where he can rip shots from a distance. The ability to chip in puck-moving play and his shot can add to his team’s offensive pressure. It’s something the Canadiens can use more of behind Hutson.

The question becomes whether having Dobson (and his $9.5 million cap hit) is redundant with Hutson (who will likely bump into the $9-plus million stratosphere next year). That argument can help rationalize the Islanders’ decision to make this trade in the first place, with Matthew Schaefer incoming. How many offensive defensemen is too many, when there are only so many prime minutes to split?

The Canadiens won’t be the only ones to heavily invest in two defensemen once Hutson extends — just look at the Sabres between Dahlin and Owen Power, who saw the value in locking up two franchise defensemen at a high price.

While both are offensively inclined, the nitty-gritty of Dobson and Hutson’s game differs. What also helps separate their value is that Dobson’s a righty, to complement Hutson’s left-handedness. The two likely aren’t going to be mainstay partners, but could be loaded up on the top pair when the team needs to boost scoring.

Split between two pairs, Dobson can be an offensive weapon who adds another threat across the top four. That should help activate a greater share of the forward group, rather than just the top line benefiting from Hutson’s presence on the top pair. So not only does he elevate a weak right side of the blue line, but he solidifies the top four.

But the reality is that having both Hutson and Dobson on different pairs means one (likely Dobson) will see their usage change. The power play will be the most noticeable change. Twenty-two of his career-high 70 points in 2023-24 were scored on the advantage. A drop in power-play production this past year contributed to a downtick in all-situations scoring. There are two ways to look at that: the team’s power-play struggles dragged him down, or he wasn’t strong enough to push the team forward. The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but the good news is that his new team isn’t relying on him to be the perfect power-play quarterback — that’s Hutson’s job.

Even with time on the second unit, the role change will affect his scoring, and this is a results-driven league. Still, even with that deployment adjustment, he projects to be worth the $9.5 million cap hit thanks to his five-on-five game.

But within Dobson’s five-on-five game, there are some potential pitfalls the Canadiens will have to work through.

The most concerning element of his game tends to be his decision-making under pressure. As much as players need foot speed to keep up in today’s speed and skill game, they also have to be able to read and react to plays quickly.

Take this short-handed goal from the Flyers. Dobson plays it too casually and stays in the middle, and doesn’t react much when Travis Konecny moves the puck laterally to Garnet Hathaway.

In this Sam Colangelo scoring sequence, there isn’t enough urgency from Dobson. He isn’t aggressive enough on the zone entry, falls behind the play and then gets caught puck-watching.

And when chaos starts developing around him — which was often the case on Long Island — Dobson doesn’t always stabilize play enough in his own zone. Instead, in this clip against Taylor Hall, he loses his man and leaves his goalie exposed to a quality chance.

Defensemen get caught flat-footed and puck-watching all the time. Mistakes are bound to happen in a high-paced league filled with scoring threats. However, the number of errors from Dobson was concerning last year, especially for someone asking for such a sizable raise. Technically, he was on the ice for fewer shots and expected goals against at five-on-five this past year, compared to 2023-24. But his fingerprints were on more goals against, which made his errors all the more glaring.

Being a puck-handler like Dobson comes with risk. Making $9.5 million a year comes with high expectations. But at 25 years old, Dobson isn’t a finished product. He is in the prime of his career and can still be molded back into top-pair caliber. The 2023-24 season is a foundation to build on. And while 2024-25 had its shortcomings, his breakout ability emerged as another strength to maximize in Montreal.

In a new environment, under a different coaching staff and system, the Canadiens are banking on Dobson to evolve.

— Data via Evolving-Hockey, HockeyViz, HockeyStatCards, All Three Zones and Natural Stat Trick. This story relies on shot-based metrics; here is a primer on these numbers.

(Photo: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)