Montreal Canadiens agree to one-year, two-way deal with Jesse Ylonen

The Montreal Canadiens have agreed to a contract with right winger Jesse Ylonen.

The contract is a one-year, two-way deal, with a value of $775,000, as reported by TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie.

Ylonen, 23, was drafted in the second round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Canadiens. He’s typically been known for the speed present in his game and has shown some flashes of driving play from the wing at the NHL level for the Canadiens. Since getting drafted, Ylonen has struggled to crack the Canadiens line-up consistently.

Throughout the last three seasons with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, Ylonen has put up 85 points in 120 games. He’s been a catalyst for the Rocket offensively and played a big part in Laval making it to the AHL playoffs over the past two years.

In 2021-22, Ylonen played in 14 games for the Canadiens, putting up two goals and three assists for a total of five points. Ylonen played in 37 games last year, where he tallied six goals and 10 assists for 16 points.

With Ylonen’s latest deal only being one year and a two-way deal, this may be the 23-year-old’s last chance to stick with the Canadiens at the NHL level. Considering his latest deal actually came in at a lesser value than his entry-level contract, Ylonen certainly has a lot to prove.