The 2025 NHL offseason was one of the slowest in terms of trades. However, that didn’t stop the Montreal Canadiens from making one of the hottest deals to bring in former Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson to the Great White North.
Most critics were quick to call this trade in the Canadiens’ favor, giving them a perfect top-four piece. One of Dobson’s ex-teammates back in New York peeled back the curtain on exactly what went down during the trade right before Dobson was slated to become a restricted free agent.
Cal Clutterbuck Reveals His Thoughts Before Noah Dobson’s Move
From the moment the 2024-25 season ended, Dobson was among the top restricted free agents (RFAs) when it came to teams looking for a good defenseman. But while a number of teams wanted to acquire him, the Canadiens were quick to the draw.
For an AAV of $9.5 million, the Canadiens got Dobson on an eight-year, $76 million deal that ensures the Canadiens have one of the best defensive pieces in the league. But for former teammate Cal Clutterbuck, his initial opinion on Dobson’s price was a lot lower.
Back when the negotiations between Dobson and the Islanders were still ongoing regarding his move, Clutterbuck appeared on the “Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast.” Joining hosts Ryan Whitney, Paul Bissonnette, and Mike Grinnell, the Islanders winger revealed his take on the Dobson deal.
When asked about what he thought was the right price for Dobson, Clutterbuck mentioned, “I think I I think from a general manager’s perspective, there’s a number. I think from Noah’s perspective, there’s a number.” But Clutterbuck believed that the number would fall somewhere in the middle.
He continued, “The number that always ends up happening is the number in the middle. So, the number in the middle is probably, I don’t know. I mean, I couldn’t even say it’s probably in the sevens.” For Clutterbuck, Dobson fell somewhere in the $7 million range.
He further continued, “It’s probably a term thing because he’s 23 years old. I think he’s capable of doing whatever he wants to do.” Clutterbuck believed that because of his age and his proven caliber, Dobson could get his asking price.
But he also went on to say, “The one thing I might have been a little gun-shy with Noah is his ability to defend hard and just be strong enough to contain the best players on the other team.”
Clutterbuck mentioned that when someone like Aleksander Barkov comes in below the goal line, you need to be able to defend it. He continued, “He showed flashes of it, but he wasn’t consistent with it.” But he added that Dobson has since worked towards that.
“I think this year he took the mentality of, like, he did sacrifice a lot of his offensive side to go out and show people that he could be that guy, and he needed to be that guy.” According to Clutterbuck, the more Dobson plays, the better he is.
He says that Dobson’s a great kid, and whatever he would’ve gotten would have been a good number. Clutterbuck mentioned that they could give or take a million, but the $7 million figure looked great for a term. Dobson eventually ended up getting a much better deal.
