Hard to believe that only eight months ago, the Montreal Canadiens were in the Stanley Cup Finals, and today are seemed as bottom feeders in the NHL. After a disastrous start to their 2021-22 season, the Canadiens find themselves as sellers at the 2022 NHL Trade deadline.
According to Hockey bets teams like the defending Stanley Cup Champions Tampa Bay Lightning, and Western Conference leaders Colorado Avalanche, are odds on favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season.
Montreal, should they finish last during the 2021-22 season, will have the highest odds of landing the first overall pick at the upcoming 2022 NHL amateur draft.
Just prior to the trade deadline, Canadiens rookie GM Kent Hughes did, in his short tenure as GM, what former Habs GM Marc Bergevin was never able to do. And that was to acquire not one, but two first round picks. A 2022 pick for forward Tyler Toffoli. And a 2023 first round pick for defenceman Ben Chiarot.
So all eyes were on Canadiens brain trust of President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton and GM Kent Hughes, on what other assets could the Canadiens receive for players on expiring contracts. Which included Mathieu Perreault, Brett Kulak, Arturri Lehkonen, Chris Wideman.
In the end only Brett Kulak and Arturri Lehkonen were traded. Not only did the Canadiens acquire Second round picks for each of these players for the next two drafts, but they also acquired some young prospects. Both defenceman, in William Lagesson, and Justin Barron. The Canadiens did complete a minor trade in trading veteran backup goalie Andrew Hammond for Nathan Schnarr.
Although many pundits believe that GM Hughes scored very well with acquiring a mix of promising young players, and draft picks, one this is certain, that next season looks just as painful as this season.
The Canadiens main problem is the Salary Cap. There are just too many bad contracts on their books.
The Canadiens have about $70M committed in contracts for 2022-23. The salary cap for 2022-23 expected to be close to $85 million. This doesn’t leave the Canadiens much flexibility. And during the course of the off-season, NHL teams cannot exceed the salary by more than 10%. All teams must be cap compliant by opening day.
Dubious Contracts
The Canadiens have at east 6 contracts that poses financial pain. Starting with Shea Weber , who is on Long-Term Injury reserve and doesn’t look like he will ever play again. Weber has 4 years remaining on his contract at a cap-hit of $7.857M. According to GM Hughes, the Canadiens explored trading Weber’s contract, but it’s hard to do with 20 games left in the season. Canadiens hope to get some Cap relief, hoping to trade his contract during the upcoming off-season.
Carey Price, who has not played a game yet this season due being on the player assistance program, and then recovering from knee surgery, his cap hit is $10.5M. He too has four years remaining. And hard to say how much his body can endure.
Jeff Petry has made it known that due to family reasons, he wants out. And his salary too is problematic. At $6.25M for the next three seasons, might be too rich for some clubs.
Brendan Gallagher’s has five years remaining on his contract. With a cap-hit of $6.5M, this might be one of the worst contracts as his real salary increases in years 3 and 4 of his six-year deal. If the Canadiens are to find any taker for his services, the Canadiens will be forced to take on 50% salary retention.
Joel Armia’s contract might seem low in comparison to the above, but for $3.4M, many teams can find cheaper alternatives.
Jonathan Drouin, who has been injury prone these last two seasons, has only one year left on his contract at $5.5M. Canadiens will most likely buy him out after this season, or trade him at net season’s trade deadline, or simply not tender a new contract after the 2022-23 season.
So expect 2022-23 to be another season of turnover, as this reset or rebuild will last for at least two more seasons. As they Canadiens need to focus on shedding bad contracts in the off-season. With hopes the Canadiens don’t have to wait another 24 years before they return to the Stanley Cup Finals.