Rumor Swirls That Carey Price's Contract Will Be Traded After Bonus Is Paid
Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Since taking over, Kent Hughes has successfully cleaned up the bad contracts left behind by the previous management of the Montreal Canadiens.
The one exception may be Carey Price's contract.
You could argue that Brendan Gallagher's deal still hurts, but at least he plays.. unlike Price.
Number 11 on the Habs actually delivered a solid 2024-2025 season, despite his $6.5M per year contract.
Some will point out that Price's contract can be placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and be removed from the Canadiens' cap hit.
That's both true and false, as this strategy has its limitations-especially if used before the start of the season, which is exactly when the Canadiens would need it most.
The best option for Kent Hughes to gain more flexibility for the 2025-2026 season would be to trade Price's contract.
But there's still one major roadblock in the way of the GM: Price's massive upcoming signing bonus.
A Bonus That Ties Kent Hughes' Hands
The upcoming campaign will be the final year of the massive deal Marc Bergevin gave his star goalie back in July 2017.
It's true Hughes has managed that $10.5M cap hit well during the rebuild, but the Canadiens appear to be entering a new phase.
That cap space would be extremely helpful right now, especially given the Habs' current salary total of $100.9M-nearly $5.4M over the league limit according to PuckPedia.
As mentioned above, trading Price's contract is the ideal option, but his signing bonus-set to be paid this September-is complicating that plan.
Given these circumstances, it would be surprising for any team owner to approve acquiring Price before the Canadiens pay him what he's owed.
As Chris Johnston recently said on SDPN, a trade can only realistically happen after the bonus is paid.
"Chris Johnston on SDPN says once Carey Price's bonus gets paid out in September, there is a high chance that contract gets moved."
Multiple Teams in the Mix to Acquire Carey Price's Contract?
As surprising as it may seem, some analysts say several teams are interested in acquiring the former Habs goalie's $10.5M cap hit.
The reason is simple: they need to reach the salary cap floor.
My top picks to trade for Price's contract are the San Jose Sharks and the Pittsburgh Penguins-both of whom appear to be on the verge of moving several veteran players.
Sharks GM Mike Grier even recently said he's open to taking on salary this summer.
So, it may come down to San Jose or Pittsburgh-but these talks might already be moot. As Charles-Alexis Brisebois (DansLesCoulisses) reports, there's a rumor that Kent Hughes already has a gentleman's agreement in place with one of his fellow GMs.
It's possible a deal is already done, with Price's contract set to be moved in September.
This is definitely a big story to watch!
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 16 | 1906 ANSWERS Rumor Swirls That Carey Price's Contract Will Be Traded After Bonus Is Paid Will Kent Hughes be able to trade Carey Price's contract? | ||
| Yes | 1103 | 57.9 % |
| No | 445 | 23.3 % |
| There's already a deal in place, that's for sure! | 358 | 18.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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