It’s been a busy offseason for the Montreal Canadiens.
Along with making a blockbuster deal to acquire Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Canadiens also drafted highly touted prospect Ivan Demidov at fifth overall and signed free-agent forward Alex Barré-Boulet over the summer.
Meanwhile, team staples like Juraj Slafkovsky, Arber Xhekaj, Kaiden Guhle, and Justin Barron have all agreed to contract extensions.
So, how do things look on the financial side of things?
As explained by PuckPedia, Montreal’s recent acquisition of Laine puts them slightly over the NHL’s $88 million salary cap ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
However, making a few roster moves and/or placing Carey Price on LTIR would solve that issue, making the Habs cap-compliant to begin the season.
After trading Harris for Laine & adding net $7.3M Cap Hit, #GoHabGo are $1.1M Proj over cap for 22 active players (14F/6/2G) + Price
They will likely send players down and submit an opening roster under the cap, then put Price on LTIR & gain $10.5M spacehttps://t.co/HchyI3YLge
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) August 19, 2024
With that in mind, here’s how much every Canadiens player will earn throughout the upcoming season.
Forwards ($55,062,500)
With the Blue Jackets not retaining any of Laine’s salary, he becomes Montreal’s highest-paid player, making nearly $1 million more than first-line staples Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield for the next two seasons.
| Player | Cap hit 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Patrik Laine | $8,700,000 |
| Nick Suzuki | $7,875,000 |
| Cole Caufield | $7,850,000 |
| Brendan Gallagher | $6,500,000 |
| Josh Anderson | $5,500,000 |
| Christian Dvorak | $4,450,000 |
| Joel Armia | $3,400,000 |
| Kirby Dach | $3,362,500 |
| Alex Newhook | $2,900,000 |
| Jake Evans | $1,700,000 |
| Rafael Harvey-Pinard | $1,100,000 |
| Juraj SlafkovskĂ˝ | $950,000 |
| Alex Barré-Boulet | $775,000 |
Defense ($13,505,833)
The Canadiens are getting a bargain on the blue line this season as none of their defenders exceed the $5 million mark.
| Player | Cap hit 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Mike Matheson | $4,875,000 |
| David Savard | $3,500,000 |
| Arber Xhekaj | $1,300,000 |
| Justin Barron | $1,150,000 |
| Lane Hutson | $950,000 |
| Jayden Struble | $867,500 |
| Kaiden Guhle | $863,333 |
Goalies ($4,040,000)
Montreal’s tandem of Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau will make a combined salary of just $4 million — less than half of what Price will take home
| Player | Cap hit 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Sam Montembeault | $3,150,000 |
| Cayden Primeau | $890,000 |
Long-term injured reserve ($10.5 million)
| Player | Cap hit 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| Carey Price | $10,500,000 |