The Montreal Canadiens signed centre Joe Veleno of Montreal, Quebec to a one-year deal worth $900,000 according to the Canadian Press on Wednesday. The Canadiens will be Veleno’s third National Hockey League team he has played for following five seasons with the Detroit Red Wings from 2020 to 2025, and part of last season with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Veleno was already traded in the offseason from the Blackhawks to the Seattle Kraken on June 21. The Blackhawks received Andre Burakovsky. However, Veleno ended up being a free agent after the Kraken bought out his contract. Now Veleno will return to his hometown of Montreal.
In 74 games this past season, Veleno had eight goals and nine assists for 17 points. He was a -23 with 17 penalty minutes, 75 shots on goal, 201 faceoff wins, 44 blocked shots, 139 hits, 13 takeaways, and 44 giveaways. Of Veleno’s 17 points, 10 points came with the Red Wings and seven points came with the Blackhawks.
It will now be interesting to see the amount of ice time Veleno receives and if he is able to crack Montreal’s lineup on opening night. The Canadiens open their season in an all-Canadian Original Six battle in Toronto on October 8. It is expected the Canadiens will try to acquire another centre after losing Christian Dvorak in free agency to Philadelphia.
