Canadiens goaltender Cayden Primeau has struggled at the NHL level so far with a 4.11 GAA and a .871 SV% in 21 games but has shown enough in the AHL that he’s still viewed as a possible goalie of the future. He now requires waivers to get back to the minors but TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (video link) that the team believes he won’t make it through unclaimed. Accordingly, they’re giving serious consideration to carrying three goalies to start the season with Primeau joining holdovers Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen. Primeau has two years left on his one-way contract which carries a cap hit of $890K but with the price of third-string goalies going up a lot this summer, even the one-way element might not dissuade a potentially interested team from taking a flyer on him.
Canadiens Rumors
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid 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 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on 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: $89,677,916 (over the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Justin Barron (one year, $925K)
D Kaiden Guhle (two years, $863K)
F Juraj Slafkovsky (two years, $950K)
D Arber Xhekaj (one year, $828K)
Potential Bonuses
Barron: $275K
Guhle: $420K
Slafkovsky: $3.5MM
Total: $4.195MM
Slafkovsky’s rookie season was a rough one as he had a limited role in the first half before an injury ended his year before he had reached the 40-game mark. Assuming he has a similar spot on the depth chart this season, his offensive trajectory won’t change much, making him a likely bridge candidate. It also makes his bonuses (including four ‘A’ ones) unlikely to be met.
Barron split last year between the NHL and AHL and Montreal’s defensive depth could force him down to start again. If he does stick, however, he should at least hit some of his ‘B’ bonus for games played ($62.5K is the maximum). A bridge deal would run him somewhere near the $1.5MM mark. Guhle’s first professional season was a strong one as he logged over 20 minutes a night. Limited offensive production could make a long-term deal tough but if he’s viewed as a core player, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Montreal take a run at it. He has two ‘A’ bonuses in his deal which could be reachable. Xhekaj was one of the bigger surprises in the league last year, going from an undrafted junior free agent signing right to the NHL. He had sheltered minutes and, like Barron, could see his waiver exemption work against him. Assuming he sticks full-time, his role should be similar, paving the way for a bridge contract next summer also in the $1.5MM territory.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
D Gustav Lindstrom ($950K, RFA)
F Sean Monahan ($1.985MM, UFA)
G Samuel Montembeault ($1MM, UFA)
F Tanner Pearson ($3.25MM, UFA)
D Chris Wideman ($762.5K, UFA)
F Jesse Ylonen ($775K, RFA)
Potential Bonuses:
Monahan: $15K
Pearson was acquired earlier this month from Vancouver and will be looking to rebuild some value after undergoing multiple wrist surgeries which caused him to miss most of last season. At the moment, his next price tag should come in below this one. Monahan got off to a strong start last year before multiple injuries ended his year prematurely. Given his injury history, he opted to take an early extension from the Canadiens over testing the market. The bonus becomes payable once he plays in 26 games. Ylonen is now waiver-eligible for the first time and will be looking to lock down a regular spot on the roster. He did well enough in limited action last season to position himself for a small raise so if he can become a regular, his next deal should pass the $1MM mark.
Lindstrom was re-signed quickly by Detroit after being non-tendered to avoid arbitration and was flipped to Montreal last month. His role shouldn’t be much different though as he’s likely to remain a sixth or seventh defender. Until he can establish himself as a full-time regular who doesn’t need sheltered minutes, his earnings upside will be somewhat limited. Wideman struggled last season after a decent first year with Montreal. The back issues that hindered him last season have already resurfaced so his next contract, if there is one, is likely to also be at the minimum.
When Montembeault signed this contract last year, it was a sign that both sides were unsure of his upside. After a rough first season in Montreal, was there another level he could get to? His performance last year suggests there might be. He struggled down the stretch but in the first half of the season, his save percentage was above the league average on a team that gave up a lot of scoring opportunities. He then had a strong showing at the Worlds in May to cap off his year. His track record isn’t strong enough to push for top backup money yet but another season like this past one could push his asking price into the $2MM territory while another small step forward could push it closer to $3MM.
Signed Through 2024-25
G Jake Allen ($3.85MM, UFA)
F Joel Armia ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Christian Dvorak ($4.45MM, UFA)
F Jake Evans ($1.7MM, UFA)
D Jordan Harris ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Rafael Harvey-Pinard ($1.1MM, RFA)
D Johnathan Kovacevic ($766.7K, UFA)
F Michael Pezzetta ($812.5K, UFA)
D David Savard ($3.5MM, UFA)
Former GM Marc Bergevin hoped that Dvorak would be able to fill the role that Jesperi Kotkaniemi was supposed to after Montreal declined to match his offer sheet with Carolina. That hasn’t happened; instead, he has settled in more as a third-line option. In this market, that’s a bit of a premium price. Armia’s contract is definitely a premium as his offense just hasn’t come around. He’s a capable defensive player but someone who is more or less valued in that role should be closer to half this price.
It looked like Evans was going to be a bargain last season. Coming off a career year in 2021-22, he was expected to push for some playing time on the third line. That didn’t exactly happen and he scored just twice in 54 games. If he can get back to the 29 points he had the year before though, they can still get a good return on this deal. Harvey-Pinard impressed in a midseason recall and while a 24.1% success rate on shots isn’t maintainable, he doesn’t need to produce at that clip to live up to this bridge deal. Pezzetta is an end-of-roster player at a price tag that’s pretty close to the league minimum so they’ll do fine with that contract.
Savard logged big minutes last season due to a dearth of veterans on the back end. He’s not an ideal top-pairing piece at this point of his career; a fourth or fifth role is where he’s better suited. That role for this price tag is a bit on the high side but as long as he stays healthy, it’s a deal that they should be able to move if they want to. Harris had a decent rookie campaign, establishing himself as a regular. With only one full year under his belt, he was basically limited to a short-term second contract. He’ll need to show that he can produce a bit more if he wants to land a sizable raise when this agreement is up.
Allen was extended to give Montreal a capable veteran netminder to help them through the next phase of their rebuild. However, he’s coming off a tough year that saw him put up his worst showing statistically by a significant margin and is now one of the top-paid platoon options. He’ll need to show considerable improvement to have a shot at beating this price point in 2025.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Kirby Dach ($3.363MM, RFA)
D Michael Matheson ($4.875MM, UFA)
G Carey Price ($10.5MM, UFA)
GM Kent Hughes paid a fairly big price to land Dach at the 2022 draft in a move that was surprising on both fronts – Montreal, a rebuilding team, moving multiple assets to add a player and Chicago, another rebuilding team, giving up on Dach so quickly. The early returns were promising for the Canadiens as Dach locked down a top-six spot, splitting time between center and the wing while having a career year despite missing 24 games due to injuries. Still just 22, they’re hoping that there’s more to come offensively and if that happens, the Canadiens will get a strong return on this contract fairly quickly. Notably, the deal is structured so that Dach will be owed a $4MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights in 2026 so a raise will be on the horizon.
Matheson’s career has featured some ups and downs so far. Back with Florida, this contract looked like a bargain, then a negative-value contract soon after. He rebuilt some value in Pittsburgh but found another gear with Montreal. Their young back end pressed him into a true number one role and, when healthy, he made the most of it as an all-situations player. While he’s not a number one option in terms of talent, the Canadiens will get great value on this deal if he continues to have success in that spot.
Price’s playing days are over and he will remain on LTIR for the next three seasons. While his contract is somewhat limiting in terms of forcing them into LTIR (meaning bonus carryover penalties), it’s a tenable situation for them to work within. Notably, he’s still owed $17MM in total compensation which will make it difficult to move, unlike certain back-diving contracts that have moved (largely to Arizona) in recent years.
Mike Matheson Misses Practice Today
Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia is reporting that Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris is practicing once again in a normal contact jersey today. The 24-year-old shed his yellow non-contact jersey for yesterday’s practice after he tweaked something two weeks ago at the start of training camp. Norris has missed 90 games over the past two seasons with a shoulder injury and has continued to deal with the ailment despite several surgical and rehabilitation efforts.
Last season, Norris injured the shoulder while taking a faceoff against the Arizona Coyotes in October, he attempted to do rehab and came back to play in January, but then re-injured his shoulder after three games. He finished the year with two goals and a single assist in just eight games in what was a very disappointing first year of an eight-year $63.6MM contract.
In other injury notes:
- Sportsnet is reporting that Cole Perfetti left the Winnipeg Jets preseason game last night against the Calgary Flames after taking a dangerous hit from Martin Pospisil. Perfetti didn’t return to the game and was absent from practice this morning when it began. However, according to Winnipeg Sun reporter Scott Billeck, Perfetti did practice in a smaller group of just five players. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that Perfetti is day-to-day at the moment.
- Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson didn’t practice today with the team. The 29-year-old was a late scratch last night for the Canadiens preseason game against the Ottawa Senators in what was said to be precautionary. Matheson dealt with several injuries last season, which makes any scratch worrisome at this point. Eric Engels of Sportsnet reported last night that Matheson is dealing with a lower body injury that is unrelated to the groin and abdominal injuries he dealt with last season and would’ve played through the injury had the game been a regular season matchup.
East Notes: Palmieri, Laine, Matheson
The New York Islanders may not have forward Kyle Palmieri available to them to begin the season, head coach Lane Lambert told reporters today (link via Ethan Sears of the New York Post). Palmieri has yet to practice with the team during training camp, and this certainly seems like a more significant injury issue than what the Islanders called “maintenance” almost a week ago.
Palmieri has been skating on his own throughout camp but has not come close to appearing in a preseason contest. It does seem unlikely that Palmieri’s absence will stretch into something significantly long-term, but missing the season opener would mean at least a three-week absence from the original undisclosed injury, which is certainly nothing to brush off. It will be a significant hole for the Islanders to fill if he does miss time, given the 32-year-old winger is again ticketed for a top-six role, likely alongside Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson. Palmieri was limited to 55 games last season due to injury, but he did manage to increase his production pace after a poor 2021-22 campaign, recording 16 goals and 33 points.
More updates from around the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Even after the departure of Mike Babcock and Brad Larsen behind the Columbus Blue Jackets bench, the Patrik Laine at center experiment hasn’t ended yet. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Laine has taken line rushes at center during each of the past two Blue Jackets practices and today was centering the team’s top line between Johnny Gaudreau and Kirill Marchenko. Shifting Laine to center full-time would certainly take the load off rookie Adam Fantilli, who could start the season in a more sheltered third-line role down the middle. It would also relieve the responsibilities of captain Boone Jenner, who was forced into averaging over 20 minutes per game last season thanks to the team’s thin depth down the middle. Laine did play a few games at center last season before an arm injury ended his campaign in late March.
- Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson was a late scratch for tonight’s preseason tilt against the Ottawa Senators, and Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports the circumstances surrounding said scratch are still unknown. If it’s injury-related, Habs fans can hope it’s only precautionary for their de facto number-one defenseman. If the team has any hopes of making noise with their young core in a suffocatingly tight Atlantic Division, Matheson’s play will be a huge part of it. The 29-year-old notched a career-high 34 points last season despite playing in just 48 games and still managed a +7 rating on a bottom-feeding team.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/24/23
The preseason kicks off in earnest today for most teams not named the Arizona Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues, who got their slate of exhibition games started over the past two days. A Battle of Ontario matchup between Toronto and Ottawa that’s also the Sens’ first official home game with Michael Andlauer as their majority owner highlights today’s schedule. Expect the list of training camp cuts to grow exponentially tomorrow, with teams making initial cuts after their first preseason games, but a handful of teams are still getting some work done on the transaction wire today. We’re keeping all of those cuts organized by team here.
Detroit Red Wings (via team release)
F Orrin Centazzo (released from PTO to Toledo, ECHL)
D Andrew Gibson (to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
D Finn Harding (released from ATO to Mississauga, OHL)
F Cameron Hillis (released from PTO, UFA)
G Lukas Matecha (released from ATO to Tri-City, WHL)
D Tnias Mathurin (to North Bay, OHL)
F Matyas Melovsky (released from ATO to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Israel Mianscum (released from ATO to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
D Connor Punnett (released from ATO to Barrie, OHL)
F Jake Uberti (released from ATO to St. Mary’s, USports)
Montreal Canadiens (via team release)
F Cedrick Guindon (to Owen Sound, OHL)
G Quentin Miller (to Quebec, QMJHL)
G Jan Spunar (to Portland, WHL)
F Florian Xhekaj (to Brantford, OHL)
New York Rangers (via team release)
D Joseph Arntsen (to Lethbridge, WHL)
G Brad Arvanitis (released from PTO to Maine, ECHL)
F Maxim Barbashev (to Hartford, AHL)
D Seth Barton (to Hartford, AHL)
D Zach Berzolla (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ryan McCleary (to Hartford, AHL)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (to Sault Ste. Marie, OHL)
F Max McCue (to London, OHL)
F Sahil Panwar (to Hartford, AHL)
D James Petrovski (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Dylan Roobroeck (to Oshawa, OHL)
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Canadiens Activate Four Off Of IR
After losing 167 games to injury last season, CapFriendly reports that the Montreal Canadiens have officially activated Cole Caufield, Sean Monahan, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Arber Xhekaj from the injured reserve today. All four returning players are favorable for the Canadiens, each providing value in their own way, but Montreal has some serious work to do in cutting down its roster at the end of training camp. With Caufield, Monahan, and Slafkovsky officially back in the mix, the Canadiens have approximately 17 forwards ready for NHL minutes, give or take a few. There is still plenty of time for General Manager Kent Hughes to make a move or two to thin out the roster, but Montreal realistically will have to use the waiver wire at the beginning of the season to make the necessary room. Caufield, being the most significant return for the Canadiens, is poised for another stellar season, especially in the goal-scoring department. Finishing 26th in total scoring during the 2022-23 NHL season, none of the blame should be put on Caufield. Last year, only playing in 46 total games before shoulder surgery ended his season early, scored 26 goals, a 46-goal pace over a full season. Other injury notes:
Chris Wideman Out Indefinitely With Back Injury
The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Chris Wideman will be out indefinitely with a back injury. No further details have been provided.
This news comes as Montreal opens up its training camp with plenty of question marks surrounding its blue line. Including David Reinbacher, the Canadiens have nine different defenders competing for an NHL role. With Wideman out, the competition opens up more to young defenders like Justin Barron, Kaiden Guhle, and Jordan Harris. But without details of what’s holding Wideman out, it’s unclear how long those roster spots will remain open. Wideman is on the second year of a two-year contract signed last summer, carrying a cap hit of $762.5K into the 2023-24 season.
Montreal Canadiens’ Christian Dvorak Will Miss First Month Of Season
Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes confirmed to reporters, including TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, today that center Christian Dvorak will not make his season debut until at least November. At a minimum, he will miss the first nine games of 2023-24 after undergoing knee surgery in mid-March.
Hughes said last week that Dvorak, 27, was not yet cleared to play and needed to have an additional consultation with his surgeon. He declined to give a timeline at that moment, but the team now has additional clarity on the status of his recovery. He is behind schedule, as the team initially expected Dvorak to be ready for the start of 2023-24 when he went under the knife over six months ago.
The Palos, Illinois, native has two seasons under his belt as a Hab after coming over from the Arizona Coyotes via trade during the 2021 offseason. Since then, he’s occupied the team’s second-line center role behind Nick Suzuki when healthy – a key caveat given he’s only played in 120 out of 164 possible games in Montreal. Even when in the lineup last season, he struggled heavily, posting ten goals and 18 assists for 28 points in 64 games. That works out to 0.44 points per game, his lowest scoring rate in a full season since putting up 0.42 points per game in his rookie campaign, 2016-17.
All that means Dvorak is slated for a diminished role this season when he does reach full health. Unless the team moves him to the wing, he could very well end up as Montreal’s fourth-line center or even occasionally sitting in the press box. Behind Suzuki, Kirby Dach and Sean Monahan are currently projected to center the second and third lines. They both produced at a higher rate and averaged more ice time than Dvorak in 2022-23. Dvorak has played some left-wing at the NHL level in the past, though, and he could still find himself in a top-nine role if names like Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Juraj Slafkovsky haven’t done enough to demonstrate they belong on the team’s top three lines through the first month of the season.
A silver lining here for Montreal is some potential increased salary cap flexibility. If they deem Dvorak is set to miss a little bit at the beginning of November as well, that would translate to him being out of the lineup for at least ten games and 24 days. That makes him eligible for long-term injured reserve at the beginning of the season, and combined with de facto retired netminder Carey Price’s $10.5MM cap hit, Dvorak’s $4.45MM cap hit could add more options for Hughes to manage Montreal’s books out of the gate for the most efficient use of LTIR relief.
Paul Byron Announces Retirement
The Montreal Canadiens have announced that former forward Paul Byron is retiring from playing hockey. Byron won’t be out of work long though as the club has also named him a Player Development Consultant with the team. The Ottawa, Ontario native spent seven years with the Canadiens after starting his career with the Buffalo Sabres and having a four-year run with the Calgary Flames.
Byron’s best season came in 2016-17 as a member of the Canadiens when he posted 22 goals and 21 assists in 81 games. He followed that up with a pair of strong seasons before injuries began to derail his career in 2019-20. Byron played for a number of years with a severe hip injury even taking cortisone injections at times to try and get through the pain of the ailment.
Byron eventually had surgery on his left hip and missed half of the 2021-22 season. He returned to play his 500th career NHL game and even scored a goal during the milestone event. Last season the Canadiens placed Byron on LTIR, and he did not return, missing the final season of his four-year contract.
It’s an unfortunate end for Byron, but it is a positive to see him still involved with hockey and the Canadiens. One can only hope that Byron’s injury is able to heal over time as his body will no longer take the physical toll that comes with being an NHL player. He will finish his NHL career with 98 career goals to go along with 110 assists in 521 career games.
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Tanner Pearson
After being hinted at for most of the morning, in order to become salary cap compliant for the upcoming season, the Vancouver Canucks have traded Tanner Pearson and a 2025 third-round draft pick to the Montreal Canadiens for goaltender Casey DeSmith.
After the trade, the Canucks will have freed up $1.45MM in cap space if no salary is retained, making compliance with the salary cap a much more manageable endeavor. Also, by acquiring DeSmith in the deal, as well, Vancouver has a much more capable backup netminder to put behind Thatcher Demko, something the team did not have last season.
From the standpoint of Montreal, they also worked out their own dilemma, no longer having three playable goalies on the roster to start the season. After acquiring DeSmith from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the same deal that would land Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh, it had been rumored for weeks that the Canadiens would eventually look to move out DeSmith as well.
All-in-all, simply for their involvement in the Karlsson trade, Montreal has acquired Pearson, Gustav Lindstrom, Nathan Legare, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2025 third-round pick, and a conditional 2025-fourth round pick in exchange for Mike Hoffman and Rem Pitlick.
This is a solid trade haul for Kent Hughes and the Canadiens, but after finding a solution to one problem, another has been created entirely. Now with Pearson in the mix, the team already has a projected 12 forwards on the roster according to CapFriendly, with Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Sean Monahan, still to return from injury. Even aside from those players, players such as Sean Farrell and Owen Beck also appear close to being NHL-ready.
At any rate, both teams solved issues for the time being with this particular trade and should alleviate some concerns heading into training camp.
Darren Dreger of TSN was the first to report Pearson was heading to Montreal.
Chris Johnston of TSN was the first to report no salary had been retained by the Canucks.
Dreger was the first to announce the trade details.
Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was the first to report the full trade details.