Alexandre Texier has looked like a completely different player since leaving the St. Louis Blues and joining the Montreal Canadiens — and he was rewarded for it on Wednesday.
Texier signed a two-year, $5 million contract extension with the Habs, which was first announced by his agent Dan Milstein and later confirmed by general manager Kent Hughes.
The 26-year-old has appeared in 25 games for the storied franchise in 2025-26, amassing seven goals and 16 points in that span. That's after he had managed just one assist over eight contests with the Blues.
St. Louis placed Texier on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutual contract termination in November, allowing him to become a free agent and pick his landing spot.
He's fit like a glove in Quebec, playing on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield and looking like a difference-maker on a team that is 26-14-7 and third place in the Atlantic Division. Texier recorded his first career hat trick in a 6-2 drubbing of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre on January 8.
He has already surpassed his point totals across two years in Missouri, and he's currently the seventh-highest scoring forward on the team.
The French forward is set to represent his country at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina. Since making his NHL debut in 2018-19, the 6-foot-1, 196-pounder has added 47 goals, 107 points and 102 penalty minutes over 265 career tilts.
Canadiens surging in the New Year
The former second-round draft pick is playing some of the best hockey of his career, and the Canadiens are firing on all cylinders midway through January.
Even if Texier doesn't keep up his strong current scoring pace, this looks to be a solid investment by Montreal. If the salary cap continues to grow as expected, the deal will only cost the Canadiens around 2.2 percent of their available cap dollars by the 2027-28 season.
The gamble on Texier has looked to be a winning one, and Montreal is doing a lot of that as of late.
Now within striking distance of the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens are just two points out of top spot in the entire Eastern Conference.
After doubling up the Vancouver Canucks 6-3 at the Bell Centre on Monday and losing 3-2 in overtime to the Washington Capitals on the road on Tuesday — in a game they led 2-0 — the Habs have won six of their last 10.
They'll look to keep the good times rolling against the surging Buffalo Sabres in Western New York on Thursday, before wrapping up their schedule for the week in Canada's capital against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
Texier looks ultra-motivated, and figures to continue making an impact for his new team as they look to make it back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs come April.
