While the Montreal Canadiens will likely make their biggest forward move of the summer via the trade market, there are still a few enticing forwards that will be UFAs on July 1st that could be of interest to the team. One of those guys is 6’5″, 212 LBS power forward Mason Marchment, who split last year between the Seattle Kraken and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Considering the Habs need to add size and grit to their lineup to be able to be more competitive come playoff time, Marchment could be the perfect fit in the middle of the team’s forward group.
One UFA I would target if I were the Habs is Mason Marchment,6’5″, 212 LBS. He’s a 20 goal scorer who can be physical and just play a great grinder game similar to Josh Anderson. I do think the Habs need more guys like that.
— Nick (@NickL2500) May 28, 2026
This past season, Marchment scored a combined 19 goals and 26 assists for 45 points in 68 games; it was his time with the Blue Jackets that really stood out. In 39 games with the Blue Jackets, he registered 15 goals and 32 points in 39 games, which would have put him on pace for 31 goals and 67 points over a full season. With that being said, he has a good number of games where he has performed like a lower-end top-line forward, which could allow him to get a nice pay raise on the $4.5 million a season he has been making over the past 4 years. However, at the same time, he has proven to be more of a 20-25 goal and 45-55 point player over the past four years when he can play a full season. He does sometimes lack consistency despite often having great stretches over the course of a season.
The reality is Marchment seems to have a 30-40 game stretch where he performs close to a point per game and usually goes cold either before or afterwards when looking at his monthly splits over the past few years. With that being said, teams should be careful with how much they spend on a player on the wrong side of 30.
Signing Marchment and Greer should be at the top of Habs’ list this offseason aside from a 2C. https://t.co/HS3Psu3zox
— Ivan Demigod (@SlafGoalZki) June 4, 2026
However, if the Habs can get him on a 3-4 year deal with a $5.5 million cap hit, he could be the perfect fit for them on a 2nd or 3rd line for late in the regular season and playoffs. What Marchment would bring is a big-bodied winger who has a solid scoring touch and can give the Canadiens 20-25 goals a season if healthy, while also being a heavy forechecking forward that can punish the opposition’s defence. With the way that the Habs played in the Conference Finals, it became very clear that they needed someone who would be willing to punish the Carolina Hurricanes’ defence by throwing big hits on the forecheck to slow them down, similarly to how the Florida Panthers played the Hurricanes in the previous two postseasons. Marchment can be that exact guy for the Habs, while also chipping in offensively. The one issue in his overall game is that he’s not the fastest skater, but at his size he can still get around the ice at a decent pace with long strides.
It will be interesting to see what kind of contract he will receive during this year’s free agency, but with the type of player that the Habs need at forward to help Josh Anderson deliver checks, they need to be at the very least interested in looking at him. Although, as mentioned above, anything over $7 million a year for 4 years would be too much for a player whose career is 22 goals and 53 points, at the same time that season was his only full healthy campaign. He has missed at least 14 games due to injury in 5 of his 6 full NHL seasons since officially making the league full-time in the 2020-21 campaign. This is something that teams must beware regarding Marchment, which could be something that drops his price on the market down a bit. At the same time, he hasn’t had any serious injury issues since the 2021-22 season where he had his best point pace, which is something that could do the opposite in terms of his final cap hit for the contract he will get.
2026 #UFA contracts that risk not aging well, in no particular order:
– Sergei Bobrovsky
– John Carlson
– Darren Raddysh
– Anders Lee
– Evander Kane
– Alex Tuch
– Rasmus Andersson
– Mason Marchment
– Boone Jenner
– Anthony Mantha
– Bobby McMann#NHL
— GrumpaDotCA (@GrumpaDotCA) June 20, 2026
At the end of the day, a player of his magnitude will get a lot of attention from teams, but they will just need to make sure not to overpay for a 31-year-old who has been a very solid player that has a history of getting injured at some point in the season. However, come playoff time he’s the type of player any team would want to help their team’s chances. With that being said, it will be hard to acquire them, but if Montreal really is starting to be a destination of choice, he may be willing to choose the Habs for a couple years as they contend.
Marchment will not play in Canada. Oleksiak sucks now. McMann is the most likely based on the fact that he is an Alberta boy Mikhehyev has the Bowman connection so that is encouraging
— Pearlo Wisdom (@pearlosnhlpow) June 17, 2026
There have been rumours that he isn’t interested in playing in Canada, but the Canadiens should at least try to make a pitch for him to help fill an important need in their lineup. The fact that they are set up to be a Stanley Cup-contending team for the near future and that he could be a very important part of the team’s success if the Habs do win might be something that could change his mind. Marchment is far from the perfect player, but if the Habs go digging for forward talent on the UFA market, he should be at the top of their list.
It should be noted however that his father, Bryan Marchment passed away in Montreal just before the 2022 NHL Entry Draft from a stroke when he was in the city as a scout for the San Jose Sharks. With that being said, he may be willing to come play in Montreal to honour his father’s life, but at the same time it may be something that could turn him off to this city as a whole.
Would you like the Habs to pursue Mason Marchment in free agency?
