Defenseman Andrei Markov’s departure from Montreal caught many by surprise, particularly since the team had more than enough cap space to bring him back; even after bringing in Mark Streit, the team has more than $8MM to work with per CapFriendly. While the expectation is that GM Marc Bergevin will look to add a big-ticket player now through the trade market or free agency, that’s something that may be easier said than done.
For starters, Markov was arguably the most prominent player left on the open market. There’s a case to be made that there aren’t any top-four blueliners left in free agency so replacing him that way isn’t going to happen. The Canadiens also need help down the middle but the top unsigned UFAs are players that are pondering retirement at this time in Mike Fisher and Matt Cullen. There are wingers who can still help plenty of teams including Montreal that remain available but that’s one area where their depth is fairly strong.
[Related: Montreal’s Depth Chart at Roster Resource]
As a result, going the trade route seems to be the likeliest way to go. However, there are some restrictions there as well. First off, their best trade chip in defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was already dealt to Tampa Bay as part of the Jonathan Drouin deal. He was the one youngster who could be the centerpiece of a trade for an impact player so it’s fair to question whether they have the prospect capital to land that big piece via trade.
Montreal’s financial situation beyond this season also is worth noting. For 2018-19, they already have nearly $58MM committed to just 15 players. While center Tomas Plekanec ($6MM) is a significant expiring contract, most of his salary is already earmarked to cover Carey Price’s new deal which kicks in then. Fast forward one more year and the commitment stands at over $48MM to just nine players (with captain Max Pacioretty among those slated to become unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019). Accordingly, it’s fair to speculate that Bergevin may not want to add another high salary that’s signed beyond next season, especially with the expectation that the salary cap is going to continue to flatten out.
There aren’t many teams in dire cap straits either that they could potentially look to exploit. Three are currently pegged to be over (Toronto, Chicago, and Detroit) but they all have players eligible for long-term injury reserve that will mitigate the need to dump a sizable salary. Washington’s in a tight spot as well but they can work around that by filling out the roster with near-minimum salary players instead of necessarily moving someone more prominent out.
All of a sudden, while the Canadiens have plenty of room to work with, the options don’t seem quite as plentiful. Free agency isn’t likely to provide much help while if they want to add an impact player, they may not want to look at players on longer-term deals unless they’re sending at least some salary the other way so while the money is there, there are also some challenges they have to deal with when they go to spend it.
One way or the other though, it’s highly unlikely that Montreal enters 2017-18 with $8MM in cap room which makes them a team to watch for the rest of the offseason.