Montreal Canadiens Likely To Allow More Prospects To Walk

The Montreal Canadiens have until August 15, 2024, to sign prospects Ty Smilanic and Rhett Pitlick to entry-level contracts, or they will relinquish their rights.

Nicolas Cloutier confirmed the Habs will not offer 23-year-old Pitlick, who was drafted 131st overall in 2019, a contract, making him a free agent in less than two weeks. We have not yet received confirmation that Smilanic will be allowed to walk, but given his results in the last few seasons it’s difficult to suggest he’s going to get a contract. Smilanic, 22, was added to the prospect pool in the trade that sent defenceman Ben Chiarot to the Florida Panthers in 2022, though the true prize in that deal was the first and fourth-round picks acquired by the Habs.

Smilanic had a hard time in the NCAA, which led to a difficult situation, as well as mental health concerns once he was unable to relaunch his career after he transferred from Quinnipiac to Wisconsin. We tend to treat prospects like stocks, putting an onus on improving their overall value as they attempt to develop into full-time NHL players, but Smilanic is a good reminder that beyond the stats, there’s a human element to prospect development. It’s easy for us to dismiss players if they don’t reach expectations, but underneath those helmets reside humans who deal with the same type of daily struggles and pressure as we do, with the added weight of their sports careers hanging over them like the sword of Damocles.

Montreal Canadiens Contract Spots Moving Forward

If we jump back into business mode for a moment, we should note that allowing various prospects to walk will become a common occurrence in the next few years. The Canadiens have one of the deepest prospect pools in the league, both in quantity and quality. This means the bar for entry-level contracts is quickly being raised, not only because there’s a limited number of deals allowed for every team. Beyond the 50-contract limit, the Habs need to add players to the lineup with well above-average results, at a minimum. And even then, there will be some, like Pitlick, who enjoy a solid season, but fail to convince general manager Kent Hughes and Co. they’re worthy of a deal.

To give you a good idea of the depth we’re discussing, 46 prospects qualified for our 2024 Canadiens prospect summer rankings, a direct result of adding 30 players to the mix via the last three NHL Entry Drafts. They’re also set to add another 12 prospects to the pool at the next draft, though given the abundance of young players in the organization, there’s a decent chance Hughes will want to leverage their quantity into quality if the opportunity arises, by means of another Kirby Dach type trade.