As is always the case, following some talk of a sizable jump in the NHL’s salary cap during the season, in the end it will be another marginal increase over the previous year. From $82.5 million for the 2022-34 season, the projection for the upper limit of the salary cap is $83.5 million for 2023-24.
That’s bad news for teams that have been shifting pieces around their organization daily since the pandemic hit and stunted financial growth. It will be another year of recalls and demotions as teams try to save as many dollars as possible. And the buyout window, which opens on Friday, will likely feature plenty of action.
As it currently stands, the Montreal Canadiens won’t need to be one of those teams. With Carey Price likely to go on the Injured Reserve list again, they are projected to have about $11 million of cap space. That’s with Karl Alzner’s final buyout instalment of $833,333, and another performance bonus overage penalty of $1.2 million that essentially wipes out the increase to the cap.
Contract data via CapFriendly
Montreal has enough players currently signed to make a 23-man roster, here projected to include two goaltenders, eight defencemen, and 13 forwards.
To get to 13 forwards, Emil Heineman or Sean Farrell, who have exactly the same cap hit of $897,500, have been included. The main absence from the projection is Rafaël Harvey-Pinard. Montreal’s top remaining restricted free agent established himself as an NHLer, and will be getting a significant raise as a result. He will take the place of someone in the projection and reduce the cap space available.
Even with eight blue-liners in the chart above, the veteran Chris Wideman isn’t included. He took on a depth role last year seeing nearly as much time in the press box as on the ice, and he doesn’t rank above anyone listed. However, he does have the advantage of being the cheapest option available, so if off-season moves force a cap crunch, his dollar figure could play a role in determining the roster construction; he offers a savings of $162,500 over the waivers-exempt Justin Barron, for example.
Justin Blades
With a new deal for RHP going on the books, there would still be plenty of space to made a big addition this summer, which is one reason why Pierre-Luc Dubois trade rumours have been so prevalent in recent weeks. Dubois could be added without having to part with salary in return, though Kent Hughes does have a few players who don’t fit the current timeline he woudn’t mind parting with.
The general manager also has to keep in mind that many of the current players, especially on defence, will need new contracts in the near future. The value of Barron, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, as well as Juraj Slafkovský is going to rise faster than the current trend of the salary cap, so that will have to be factored into how much money is committed to long-term deals. There are only a few medium-salary contracts set to expire at the end of this season, those for Joel Edmundson and Mike Hoffman.
Hughes made it clear that he was prepared to make some major moves around this time last year, acquiring Kirby Dach and then trading Jeff Petry for Mike Matheson. With reports of the GM wanting to move up in the draft to go along with the Dubois rumours, things might be even more eventful in his second summer on the job.
