The Montreal Canadiens are pretty tight on cap space, but they could be shedding some financial weight over the summer.
Looking over the Canadiens’ list of expiring contracts, there are are a handful of players we can assume won’t be calling the Bell Centre home next season, all three of whom are veterans set to become UFAs.
Tanner Pearson
Acquired in an early season trade with the Vancouver Canucks, forward Tanner Pearson is set to become a UFA this summer.
He was previously signed to a deal paying him an average annual salary of $3.25 million, but hasn’t necessarily lived up to it.
Starting the year on a hot streak with three goals and two assists in his first five games, Pearson’s game fell off in the second half, as he concluded the 2023-24 campaign with just five goals and 13 points over 54 games.
Unless Pearson takes a major pay cut, if Montreal wants to make room for a standout prospect or free agent, they shouldn’t have too much trouble letting the 31-year-old explore the market on his own.
Colin White
Back in February, the Habs picked up forward Colin White on waivers after the Pittsburgh Penguins attempted to send the forward down to the minors.
Riding a long pointless streak with the Penguins, White, 27, did not improve once he got to Montreal, netting zero points and a -5 and +/- sheet in 28 games this season.
In fact, his last NHL goal came against Montreal all the way back on March 16, 2023.
While White’s $775,000 contract is not much of a burden on the Canadiens, letting him go on July 1 would still free up a little bit of space for another signing.
Chris Wideman
Despite reports emerging that he was retiring, veteran defenceman Chris Wideman clarified that he was not stepping away from the game in his end-of-season media availability.
With that said, plenty of question marks surround the likelihood of him making a return to the Canadiens, who signed him as a free agent in 2022.
The 34-year-old, who last played in April 2023, missed the entirety of the 2023-24 season due to a back injury.
Given his rocky road to recovery and Montreal’s surplus of young defencemen, no one would be surprised if the Habs don’t renew his expiring contract.
Follow Channels and Categories