Canadiens: one of the only teams currently over the salary cap

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 10:19 AM ET

Salary cap warnings.

In summer, the 32 Bettman Circuit teams can exceed the salary cap by 10%. But by the first day of the season, everything must be back to normal, of course.

Why is this? To give teams flexibility in building their rosters.

In Montreal, the desire to avoid placing Carey Price on the off-season injured list (there are advantages to waiting until the first day of the season) means that a lot of off-season work is cut.

Not surprisingly, on Cap Wages, the Habs are one of only three clubs currently over the salary cap. The Panthers and Canucks are in the same boat, according to the site.

(Credit: Cap Wages)

Not all sites calculate the salary cap in the same way. But even so, on PuckPedia, there are three teams currently over the cap… and the Habs are one of them.

The calculation is different, since CW doesn’t necessarily count Laval’s youngsters, while PP adds Oliver Kapanen and Joshua Roy to the line-up right now, in order to have a more realistic roster. But either way, the Habs are over the cap.

(Credit: Puck Pedia)

Whichever way you look at it, Kent Hughes has less leeway than before. He can thank Geoff Molson for agreeing to spend so much: not every owner wants that, with the cap rising.

The difference with 2022, when Hughes took over as GM? There were more big, heavy contracts. There are still some today (Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson), but time is taking its toll and these contracts are less onerous than they used to be.

The big contracts today are mostly those of younger guys who will be there to try and win the Stanley Cup and who are part of the core.

The addition of Noah Dobson and the signing of Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle are examples, as are Nick Suzuki (signed by Marc Bergevin) and Cole Caufield.

The club may not have a lot of clout, but the lineup is shaping up nicely. But it’s clear that going after Jordan Kyrou, for example, wouldn’t be easy, since you’d have to free up some salary to do it.

Remember that the Habs must also sign Jayden Struble, but that the American defenseman won’t be asking for the moon and won’t drastically change the Canadiens’ salary structure.