As Kent Hughes enters his second offseason as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, it’s safe to say the honeymoon phase has worn off between his front office and the Habs faithful, especially after a slew of questionable moves during draft week that have experts and fans alike scratching their heads.
In a move similar to the one that landed them Kirby Dach at last year’s draft in Montreal, the Canadiens traded for 22-year-old centre Alex Newhook, sending a first-round pick, second-round pick and a prospect to the Colorado Avalanche to acquire the restricted free agent. Montreal followed that up by selecting defenceman David Reinbacher with the fifth-overall pick on Wednesday, surprising many who expected the goal-starved organization to select one of the talented forwards available that early in the draft.
Following a season littered with losses and injuries, but balanced out by good vibes around the locker room and fan base, the Habs are ready to move on from their tanking phase and start giving their promising young core some serious reps at the NHL level.
While they don’t project to be competing for a playoff spot next season, especially in a loaded Atlantic Division, the Canadiens should start to make some noise as the likes of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Kaiden Guhle continue their ascent to stardom.
Roster outlook
Notable UFAs: Paul Byron, Jonathan Drouin, Alex Belzile, Chris Tierney
Notable RFAs: Alex Newhook, Denis Gurianov, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Jesse Ylonen
Projected salary cap space: $9,240,834 (with LTIR) via CapFriendly
The Canadiens are actually cap strapped, but with superstar netminder Carey Price unlikely to ever return to the ice, his massive $10.5-million cap hit can be swallowed up by long-term injured reserve for the remaining three years of his contract.
Montreal also doesn’t have much to do in terms of retaining free agents. After inking Caufield to an eight-year, $62.8-million ($7.85M AAV) extension, and re-signing Sean Monahan to a team-friendly one-year deal, the Canadiens’ only significant free agent left is Newhook. The Habs’ latest addition is likely to sign a bridge deal, and shouldn’t command more than $2.5 million per year.
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard burst onto the scene in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals and registering 20 points in 34 games while filling in on the top line as injuries mounted for the Habs. While talks over a new contract for the RFA have been quiet (at least publicly), the 24-year-old should settle for a multi-year contract in the $2-million AAV range.
Jesse Ylonen finally showed some flashes of his potential in the NHL last season, recording 16 points in 37 games after earning a call-up midway through the year. Expect a bridge deal at a low cap hit for the Finnish speedster as well.
The Canadiens did not tender a qualifying offer to Denis Gurianov, but the team reportedly won’t rule out a return for the 26-year-old Russian forward, who registered eight points in 23 games after he was acquired at the trade deadline from Dallas.
Paul Byron is expected to retire and move into the front office after missing each of the last two seasons through injury, while Jonathan Drouin will surely be let go as the playmaker looks to re-ignite his once-promising career. Alex Belzile and Chris Tierney are unlikely to return as the Habs look to fill their bottom-six with their up-and-coming young forwards.
Biggest needs
Take on salary dump deals
The salary dump seems to be the trend of the offseason so far, with a number of tight-capped teams trading some of their well-paid players to teams who can afford the contracts, while giving them an asset or two as a thank you for their troubles.
The Canadiens should absolutely get in on this, just as they did when they pulled off arguably the move of the summer in 2022, acquiring Monahan and a 2025 first-round draft pick from the Calgary Flames for “future considerations.” The trade has proven to be an absolute steal for Hughes and Co., as Monahan looked really comfortable in Montreal’s lineup last season before getting injured (again).
Despite the bad luck on the injury front, Monahan decided to sign a one-year, $1.985-million contract to remain with the Canadiens for next season. The 28-year-old says he feels as close to full health as he has in years, and could be one of the most coveted players at next year’s trade deadline should he have a good season.
One would imagine the Canadiens are working the phones, looking to “help” another contender with their cap issues and bring in a player that still provides good value on the ice. While most of the top salary dump candidates are off the board, players like the Stars’ Radek Faksa or the Penguins’ Mikael Granlund could be sacrificed for some cap flexibility, and Montreal should at least be engaged in those conversations.
Find suitors for dead weight
The term “dead weight” may be a little harsh, but the Canadiens roster currently includes a handful of players that make too much money for what they bring to the table, while also stunting the growth of the youngsters pushing for those spots in the lineup.
On offence, Joel Armia and Christian Dvorak make a combined $7.85 million per year, but only contributed 42 points between them last season. Moving Dvorak is surely a priority for Hughes this offseason, as Montreal looks to ease the logjam it currently has down the middle of the ice with Suzuki, Dach, Newhook, Monahan and Jake Evans all expecting ice time as centremen.
Mike Hoffman also falls into this category, but finding a team to take on a one-dimensional forward who has struggled to produce — while carrying a $4.5-million cap hit — may be practically impossible.
The Habs took a step in the right direction on this front on Saturday, trading Joel Edmundson to the Washington Capitals for third and seventh round picks in the 2024 draft.
