2024-04-17 14:46:00
The Canadian’s season is officially over.
The leaders of the CH (especially Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton) will therefore have to focus on what is coming in the coming weeks… That is, the draft, in particular, and the opening of the free agent market.
Because yes, things will happen between now and the start of the next CH season.
But summer also means contract redemption.
The various NHL clubs often take advantage of this to buy out the contract of a guy who is no longer producing because he costs too much… And even if this can affect the payroll in terms of penalties, sometimes the clubs do not have no choice.
In Montreal, we have talked about the idea of buyout in recent months and there are logical candidates who can come to mind.
Brendan Gallagher and his $6.5M contract until the end of the 26-27 season…
Josh Anderson and his $5.5M contract until the end of the 26-27 season…
We talked about Joel Armia and his $3.4M contract until the end of next season (24-25)…
And we even talked about Christian Dvorak and his $4.45 million contract until the end of the next season (24-25).
That said, we shouldn’t expect a contract buyout this summer in Montreal: Kent Hughes told the media today that he simply had no intention of doing so.
And it was quite clear, in the words of the CEO:
A contract buyout is not in Kent Hughes’ plans this year. @CanadiensMTL @TVASports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 17, 2024
Remember that the impact of the purchase of Karl Alzner will fade from the mass of CH this summer.
That said… The idea of buying out a contract this summer doesn’t necessarily make sense because the Canadian doesn’t really need space on the payroll short term.
Either way, Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia have been playing big hockey for several games and they have proven that they still have something to give to an NHL club.
You can’t necessarily say the same thing about Anderson… But it’s not like the striker is too old to get going again. If Andy finds a way to be useful to CH as he was during the playoffs in 2021, Kent Hughes will be happy. He’s only 29, after all…
For D-vo, we’re talking about a guy who doesn’t produce much offensively and who missed a large part of the season, but he can be used in all sauces (even if it’s not ideal) because he is responsible in the faceoff circle.
Especially since his contract ends next year, like Armia. The penalties are simply not worth it.
If the Canadian was ready to win and he was ready to spend big cash on the free agent market, probably the story would be different.
But the club hasn’t gotten there yet in its rebuild, and Kent Hughes doesn’t want to add talent at the expense of a young player because he’s focused on the team’s long-term success.
A lot of
– Nice!
Juraj Slafkovsky says he thinks he’s going to go play at world championship #Habs
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) April 17, 2024
– The CEO was funny this morning, hehe.
“Everyone says that the media in Montreal is not easy, but Jeff is much more difficult than the rest of you! » – Kent Hughes ends his press briefing with humor!😂 pic.twitter.com/nt7NycDlVr
— RDS (@RDSca) April 17, 2024
– Your answer?
QUESTION OF THE DAY IN THE MORNING CLUB:
Should Kent Hughes consider a Mike Matheson trade? His value is high with 62 points in addition to the abundance of defensemen including Guhle, Savard, Xhekaj, Struble, Barron Harris, Kovacevic, Hutson, Mailloux, Reinbacher and Engstrom.— BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) April 17, 2024
– Les boys!
Popular club. pic.twitter.com/iuJg2xR5k6
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 16, 2024
– Oh yes?
The European director of the Centrale makes our mouths water…
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 16, 2024
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#Kent #Hughes #buy #contract #summer