The Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs this past season, and the front office wants to be aggressive this offseason.
However, Montreal has nearly $8.7 million in cap space, so it will be hard for the Canadiens to make a big move. Yet, NHL insider Marco D’Amico of PuckPedia believes Montreal could look to trade Carey Price’s contract to create some cap space and leverage.
“With the Canadiens looking to take the next step in this rebuild, they’ll want to spend more than just $4-6M to improve the team. And the best way to do so is to convince a team looking to hit the salary cap floor to take on Price’s contract,” D’Amico wrote.
Price has one year left on his eight-year, $84 million deal. The future Hall of Fame goaltender hasn’t played since 2022.
However, teams who are trying to reach the cap floor can use Price’s contract to get there, which is why D’Amico thinks the goalie could be traded.
“We’ve seen teams utilize this strategy in the past, like the Chicago Blackhawks and the Arizona Coyotes with the acquisitions of Shea Weber’s contract. Price’s last remaining year could provide that no-risk buffer to allow teams to keep spending low as they rebuild or focus on developing their youth,” D’Amico wrote. “On the flipside, the Canadiens would be able to utilize the newfound $10.5M in cap space, for a total $19.2M, to bring in an impact player or two via trade or free agency in order to truly push the team to another level.”
Although Price won’t play again, trading his contract would be wise for the Canadiens.
NHL Executive Believes Canadiens Are Shopping Price
As D’Amico noted, trading Price’s contract would give Montreal nearly $10 million in cap space to spend this summer.
The Canadiens, who are hoping to be aggressive, could use that money. One NHL executive told D’Amico he believes Montreal is shopping Price’s contract.
“Price’s contract is a big anchor for the Canadiens right now. If they want to gain that full flexibility, they’ll be wise to move it,” said another NHL executive.
Although Price won’t play again, his contract still can be moved, and it appears to be attractive to teams to acquire.
“With the salary cap increasing in such a big way, some teams want to cover their bases by acquiring a contract like that. Just like Chicago just did with Shea Weber,” a source told D’Amico.
Price is a one-time Vezina Award winner and a seven-time NHL All-Star.
Canadiens GM Looking to Add Experienced Players
Montreal had a successful season, making the playoffs, but was eliminated in five games by the Washington Capitals.
Entering the offseason, Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes says they are looking to add more experienced players.
Experience, leadership and continuing to add to the team,” Gorton said at the year-end press conference. “There are certain things we can and can’t say today, because we don’t want to reveal our plan to the 31 other teams. That said, there’s no doubt we want to add more talent to our team. We need to determine to what extent we want to add experience versus gain experience (with the players we have).”
The Canadiens were the youngest team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Insider Claims Canadiens Could Trade Future Hall of Famer in Offseason