The Montreal Canadiens are in a holding pattern at the moment, but they have options that they’re currently exploring to maximize their salary cap situation before the start of the season.
Since the blockbuster three-way trade with the San Jose Sharks and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Canadiens are currently over the salary cap by an estimated $5.1M.
This is due to the influx of salary from the acquisitions of Jeff Petry and Casey DeSmith, both of whom appear to be significant trade chips heading into the NHL preseason.
However, due to Carey Price’s LTIR situation, the Canadiens have a few options they could utilize to maximize their cap space and broker more deals.
Shed Salary
The Montreal Canadiens would preferably like to shed another $5M in salary to allow them to start the season under the $82.5M cap.
If the Canadiens could manage to shed the contracts of players like Jeff Petry, Joel Armia or Casey DeSmith, it would go a long way in opening up roster spots for younger players or getting the club as close to $82.5M as possible.
If general manager Kent Hughes could manage to get his club right under that number, they’ll be able to place Price on LTIR after the start of the NHL season, giving them the ability to accrue cap space throughout the season, while also having the option to go over the salary cap thanks to Price’s contract.
It would give the Canadiens the best of both worlds, but would require a lot more work from Hughes, as a grand majority of teams are quite close to the cap as it is. Then again, Pittsburgh was right up against the cap. and now have Erik Karlsson, so anything can happen, it seems.
Take On More Salary
The Montreal Canadiens aren’t expected to be major players in the Eastern Conference playoffs race according to the latest NHL betting odds, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be doing absolutely everything to improve their team moving forward.
The three-way trade with San Jose and Pittsburgh was very indicative of that, acquiring a discounted Petry, an adequate backup in DeSmith, prospect Nathan Legaré and a 2025 2nd-round pick for just a slight increase in cap expenditure.
Not only did such a move free up some much-needed roster spots at forward for some youngsters.
The Canadiens could look for similar moves leading up to the start of the season in October, especially if they can’t manage to get under the salary cap.
Similar to last year when they acquired Sean Monahan, the Canadiens could look to take on a short-term, albatross contract for additional assets, creating a “two birds with one stone” situation.
Not only would they weaponize their cap space, but, by increasing their LTIR relief space in the process. By getting as close to $93M in salary expenses, the Canadiens would be giving themselves the maximum amount of LTIR space possible before the start of the season, thereby utilizing the full weight of Carey Price’s contract.
It wouldn’t be the most ideal option for them, but it would be the next best thing to do in order to maximize the value of their cap space in the immediate and medium future.
The Waiting Game
It has now become a waiting game to see which avenue the Canadiens will take in the coming weeks, as things can go either way with the right trade partner.
Kent Hughes has some work cut out for him as NHL general managers get back to work, but he certainly has the flexibility to choose his next move; something he has fought hard to gain since taking over as Canadiens GM.
It’s simply now a question of how and when, but, as we’ve heard in recent days, the wait might not be as long as some believe.
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