Payroll: Here’s the Canadiens’ payroll after signing Zachary Bolduc

That doesn't make his summer perfect, of course. Arber Xhekaj is still without a contract. Martin St-Louis hasn't signed a contract extension. The team doesn't have a top-tier second-line center. It's unclear who will play alongside Lane Hutson. There are three goaltenders on the roster.

But at least Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes have signed contract extensions.

As I said recently, seeing Bolduc sign is great news since time was starting to run out for him. Especially with Kreider in town…

I think it's a pretty fair deal for everyone. The player gets his benefits (a good short-term payout, a contract that takes him straight to full free agency), but so does the club.

Because if Bolduc breaks out and starts scoring at the expected rate, he'll be a steal at $4.2 million. And that's true even if the contract doesn't buy him any years of full free agency.

Only time will tell.

So, naturally, we now have a better idea of the wiggle room the Canadiens have to make moves. According to PuckPedia, the Canadiens currently have $3.4M available to sign Arber Xhekaj and add to the roster.

But as Nicolas Cloutier points out, if you take Brett Berard and Jacob Fowler out of the equation, that brings the figure up to $5.2 million.

Does this mean the Habs can't create any more cap space? That's not what it means. After all, Samuel Montembeault could leave, and a player could be traded to make room.

Injuries could also come into play.

But right now, this is the cap space the Canadiens have to work with. Will anything happen before the start of the season? Will Kent Hughes pull off a magic trick?

The answer coming soon.

In a Nutshell

– About 40 hours before the new collective bargaining agreement takes effect.

– How did the Habs players' summer go? [TVAS]

– He's 42 games away from the milestone.

– Nice.