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A year from now, Lane Hutson and Zachary Bolduc will no longer be on a rookie salary

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 10:26 AM ET

The summer of 2025 isn’t over for Kent Hughes, of course. There are still contracts to be signed for Jakub Dobes, Jayden Struble and William Trudeau… in addition to seeing what happens on the market.

But the job of an NHL GM is to look ahead.

And if the Canadiens’ GM looks a year from now, to July 2026, he realizes that he has several players who will need a new contract for the 2026-2027 season.

Alex Belzile, Nate Clurman, Marc Del Gaizo, Samuel Blais, Patrik Laine, Carey Price and Mike Matheson (the biggest case) will be uncompensated free agents a year from now.

What about NHL RFAs? For the moment, we have Arber Xhekaj, Kirby Dach, Lane Hutson and Zachary Bolduc.

It’s worth noting, though, that for the 2026-2027 season, the last two names on the list should, if the trend continues, get a healthy pay rise.

Especially Hutson…

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But I’m curious to see what Bolduc can come up with. After all, he was very good in his final months in St. Louis, and if he picks up where he left off in preparation for the 2025-2026 season, he’ll be shopping for a pay raise.

Kent Hughes doesn’t always give in the area of bridge contracts. If Bolduc proves himself…

My point is this: even if the salary cap continues to rise ($95.5M in 2025-2026, then increases to $104M and $113.5M for the following two years), the increase will be swallowed by the two youngsters. And that’s okay: that’s how a good club is built.

But since the Habs are already over the cap for 2025-2026, it’s important to remember that the end of Carey Price’s contract, in just under a year’s time, won’t solve all the club’s problems, since the youngsters will be picking up the tab.

Ivan Demidov, too, will eventually need another contract. His will expire in 24 months – with the possibility of signing as early as summer 2026, for those wondering.

That doesn’t stop the GM from spending, but it does remind us of the importance of being cautious. After all, the likes of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle are taking up space (which is all very well) and we need to keep that in mind.