Canadiens Acquire Jake Chiasson and Hunter Shepard, Pointing to Deeper AHL Goaltending
The Canadiens, through general manager Kent Hughes, have added goaltender Hunter Shepard and forward Jake Chiasson in a trade that sent Riley Kidney to the Senators of Ottawa. This move confirms immediate reallocation of depth across the Rocket de Laval and the Lions de Trois-Rivières and signals where each organization is sending its younger players.
Kent Hughes confirms acquisition of Hunter Shepard and Jake Chiasson
Kent Hughes announced that the Canadiens acquired Hunter Shepard and Jake Chiasson from the Senators of Ottawa in exchange for Riley Kidney. Shepard has played 15 games with Belleville in the American Hockey League this season, posting a 6-7-2 record, and holds a 2-3-1 mark in six career NHL games with the Capitals of Washington and the Senators. Jake Chiasson, 22, recorded one assist in 20 games this season with the Senators’ Belleville AHL club and will report to the Lions de Trois-Rivières.
Hunter Shepard’s Belleville track and Rocket de Laval role
Shepard’s AHL stat line — 15 appearances and a 6-7-2 record with Belleville — frames the Canadiens’ stated need for goaltending depth ahead of upcoming minor-league assignments. The transaction moves Shepard to the Rocket de Laval, where he is expected to join the club for weekend matchups against the Comets at Utica and the Crunch at Syracuse. The move pairs Shepard with Kaapo Kahkonen in the Laval netminder tandem, per the contextual roster notes.
Scenarios tied to Jake Chiasson, Riley Kidney and organizational depth
Scenario A: If Jake Chiasson reporting to the Lions de Trois-Rivières continues… Jake Chiasson will remain within the Canadiens’ development pipeline at the ECHL/AHL border. The context shows Chiasson spent 16 games in the ECHL with the Americans of Allen this season, producing eight points, and was a fourth-round pick of the Oilers in 2021 (116th overall). If the organization keeps him with the Lions de Trois-Rivières, the immediate direction is more AHL/ECHL seasoning rather than an NHL push this season.
Scenario B: Should Riley Kidney’s move to the Senators persist as the team’s response to roster needs… Kidney’s departure alters Laval’s forward depth. Kidney, a second-round pick by Montreal in 2021, had been limited to six games with Laval this season and collected 33 points, including 11 goals, in 46 games with the Lions de Trois-Rivières. If Ottawa keeps Kidney in its system, Laval will need to rely on returning options and new arrivals like Luke Mittelstadt to fill scoring and roster minutes.
These two conditional paths rest on the specific roster assignments already cited: Chiasson reporting to the Lions de Trois-Rivières and Kidney’s move to the Senators. Both are grounded in the transactions announced by Kent Hughes and the roster notes that followed the trade.
What the context does not resolve is whether Jake Chiasson will advance beyond the Lions de Trois-Rivières or whether either organization will make additional moves to alter the Rocket’s or Belleville’s playing time allocations; those outcomes will be clarified by subsequent roster announcements and by Chiasson’s game appearances. The next confirmed signal from the context is Shepard joining the Rocket de Laval for the weekend matchups at Utica and Syracuse, which will show how the Canadiens deploy the newly acquired goaltender in their AHL affiliate.
