Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Montreal Canadiens
Current Cap Hit: $66,537,977 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Jakub Jerabek (One year remaining, $925K, UFA)
F Artturi Lehkonen (Two years remaining, $839K, RFA)
Lehkonen made a strong first impression after coming over from the Swedish League, earning himself a regular spot in the lineup. As the season progressed, his responsibilities started to increase and he spent some time in Montreal’s top six. He should find himself either on the second or third line to start next season.
The Canadiens beat out a handful of other NHL teams to sign the 26-year-old Jerabek back in May. He’s coming off a strong first season in the KHL with Vityaz Podolsk where he finished fifth in points by a defenseman. With Montreal losing their top three left-shot defenders from last season (Andrei Markov to the KHL, Nathan Beaulieu to Buffalo via trade and Alexei Emelin in the Expansion Draft), there is an opening for him to step in and play right away. If he doesn’t make the opening roster, he has a European Assignment Clause in his contract.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Phillip Danault ($912K, RFA)
D Brandon Davidson ($1.425MM, RFA)
F Jacob de la Rose ($725K, RFA)
F Ales Hemsky ($1MM, UFA)
F Andreas Martinsen ($675K, UFA)
F Torrey Mitchell ($1.2MM, UFA)
D Joe Morrow ($650K, RFA)
F Tomas Plekanec ($6MM, UFA)
D Mark Streit ($700K, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Streit: $300K
Plekanec is Montreal’s highest-paid forward in terms of cap hit and is coming off of arguably the worst season of his career. While he is still a serviceable checker, his production dropped from 54 points two years ago to just 28 in 2016-17. Given their lack of depth down the middle, he’ll still be called on to log an important role this coming season. Danault is coming off of a breakout campaign that saw him ascend to the top line. If he can follow that up with a similar effort in 2017-18, he’ll be in line for a significant raise next summer and has arbitration eligibility. Hemsky missed most of last season with hip problems and is looking to rebuild his value on a team that had issues scoring with consistency. Mitchell should be able to hold on to his fourth line role for one more year but will be pushed by de la Rose for playing time while Martinsen will likely slide into a reserve spot.
On the back end, Davidson will enter his first full season with the Canadiens after being acquired near the trade deadline from Edmonton. He didn’t see a lot of action after being acquired and will likely battle with Jerabek for ice time. Streit was recently brought in just before Markov’s departure was made official. While he can’t handle big minutes anymore, he can still contribute offensively and could push for a third pairing/power play specialist role for a year. Morrow is no stranger to head coach Claude Julien and was brought in after Boston didn’t qualify him. He’ll also battle for a spot but could also be waived and sent to AHL Laval to serve as depth.
Two Years Remaining
D Jordie Benn ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Paul Byron ($1.17MM, UFA)
F Peter Holland ($675K, UFA)
F Charles Hudon ($650K, RFA)
G Al Montoya ($1.063MM, UFA)
F Max Pacioretty ($4.5MM, UFA)
Pacioretty is obviously the most prominent name on this list. He has been one of the top goal scorers league-wide in recent years and is on a team-friendly contract. It will take a considerable raise for GM Marc Bergevin to be able to keep him in the fold in the 2019 offseason. Byron surprised many last year as he finished second on the team in goals with 22, far from typical production from a waiver claim. He’ll likely start in a third line spot in 2017-18. Hudon has been one of the better goal scorers in the AHL in recent years and now that he’s waiver eligible, he should get a longer look this season. As for Holland, he’ll contend for a spot on the end of the roster but could also be a candidate to be waived and start in the minors.
Benn added some depth to their third pairing after being acquired before the deadline from Dallas and will likely reprise that role next season. While Montreal has some prospects that could fill that spot before too long, none are quite ready to push for that spot just yet. Montoya was able to leverage expansion to get a two-year extension back in January. He’ll serve as the backup between the pipes for at least one more season.
Three Years Remaining
F Alex Galchenyuk ($4.9MM, UFA)
D David Schlemko ($2.1MM, UFA)
Galchenyuk has long been a focus in trade speculation and this contract that he signed last month that almost amounts to a second bridge deal isn’t going to change that. There remain questions as to whether or not he can play down the middle but either way, he will be counted on to shoulder a big part of the scoring load for as long as he’s still in Montreal.
Schlemko was added from the Golden Knights following the Expansion Draft and gives them some depth on the left side. As the roster currently stands, he may be asked to start in a top-four role in 2017-18.
Four Or More Years Remaining
D Karl Alzner ($4.625MM through 2021-22)
F Jonathan Drouin ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
F Brendan Gallagher ($3.75MM through 2020-21)
D Jeff Petry ($5.5MM through 2020-21)
G Carey Price ($6.5MM this season, then $10.5MM through 2025-26)
F Andrew Shaw ($3.9MM through 2021-22)
D Shea Weber ($7.86MM through 2025-26)
Drouin was Montreal’s key offseason acquisition after they acquired him from Tampa Bay just before expansion. The team wasted little time locking him up, settling on that contract just hours after the trade was made. He’s a candidate to slide into the vacancy left by Alexander Radulov on the top line right wing. Gallagher’s contract looked like a bargain when it was signed but hand injuries have taken their toll over the past two seasons. Accordingly, his name has popped up in trade speculation but they may be better off waiting to see if he can rediscover his scoring touch. Shaw had his ups and downs in his first season after being acquired from Chicago. He could potentially move into the center position as well but is likely to be a bottom six forward either way and that contract in term and dollar value is a premium for that type of role.
Although the league has trended towards mobility on the back end, Montreal acted quickly to sign Alzner in an effort to bring in some defensive stability. While he profiles better as a second pairing player, he could be forced into a spot on the top pairing. Petry is locked in on that second pairing but with the departure of Markov, he becomes their lone real mobile puck-mover.
Then there are the longest-termed contracts with two players locked up for nine more years. Weber is their undisputed top defender and with Markov gone, more may be asked of him in 2017-18. That contract will become more cumbersome as it progresses and it is one of the now-illegal back-diving deals that will see his salary drop considerably starting in 2022-23. It’s worth noting that Montreal won’t be off the hook for salary cap recapture until after 2019-20.
Bergevin has long-called Price the cornerstone of their franchise and they wasted little time formalizing that as he inked his max-term pact on July 2nd, only the second day that he was eligible to sign. He received the richest deal in franchise history and the most expensive ever given to any goalie league-wide. Because of that financial commitment, he’ll remain their franchise player for many years to come.
Buyouts
None
Still To Sign
None, although many expect them to make another move this offseason.
Best Value: Pacioretty
Worst Value: Plekanec (if his offensive struggles continue)
Looking Ahead
The Canadiens have more than $41MM locked up in those seven players with at least four or more years left which doesn’t leave a lot of financial wiggle room to add another big ticket piece (or in the case of Pacioretty, to retain their top scorer) without creating some concerns. That’s likely to come into play when it comes to using their remaining cap space.
Aside from that, with the sheer number of expiring contracts the team has, Montreal is a candidate to have quite a bit of roster turnover in the next calendar year although it will mostly be depth players replacing other depth pieces.
All in all, with more than $8MM still to work with this summer, it’s hard to imagine that they will have too many challenges staying under the Upper Limit in 2017-18. If the cap doesn’t rise much in the next few years though, they could be facing some difficulty a few years from now.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.