Things got a lot more complicated for the Montreal Canadiens than they appeared to be at the conclusion of a surprising long playoff run. We learned that Shea Weber is dealing with serious injury issues that could keep him out for a long time, and possible bring an end to his career. There were also reports that Phillip Danault would be free to test free agency, removing one of the forward options the team was probably hoping to protect.
As a result, the decisions for the skaters pretty well fell into place, with few hard choices left to make. The only question was how Montreal would navigate its goaltending position, preferring to keep the tandem of Carey Price and Jake Allen, but only being able to protect one of them. We learned that answer last night, with a report that Price had agreed to waive his no-movement clause, and he (and his $10.5-million cap hit) will be the one left exposed to Seattle.
This is the list of players — seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender — that Montreal is hiding from the Seattle Kraken, and all of the eligible players they will have to choose from on Montreal’s reserve list.
The Kraken will now be poring over the 30 lists of unprotected players to make their decisions on who to select, needing a group of at least 14 forwards, nine defencemen, and three goaltenders, 20 of whom are under contract for next season, and who fall somewhere in the range from 60% of 100% of the $81.5-million salary cap. We won’t know what Seattle’s plan is until the organization reveals its 30 picks on July 21.
See the full list of protected and exposed players from the 30 eligible teams here.
