Cole Caufield signed a good contract (for everyone) with the Habs: https: //t.co/YiWo2Jkta8
Plus, he doesn’t have a no-movement clause: https: //t.co/3IHk4oQ5c1
What more could you ask for? @DLCoulisses pic.twitter.com/ViMmYjjAaW
– Charles-Alexis Brisebois (@Charles__Alexis) June 5, 2023
Pierre-Luc Dubois: we wonder if he could make more money than Nick Suzuki in Montreal
Auteur: Manuel Sperandio-Lemay![Pierre-Luc Dubois: we wonder if he could make more money than Nick Suzuki in Montreal](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2023/06/Photo-Pierre-Luc-Dubois.jpg)
By signing Cole Caufield for $7.85 million until 2031, Kent Hughes created a media eclipse and made it clear: the Canadiens’ young forward, along with Nick Suzuki, represents one of the biggest pieces of the lineup.
It is around them that the club will be built offensively. And since Caufield led the club in goals in just 46 games, it’s not a bad game plan.
Is this a good decision? Everyone has an opinion on the matter, of course. But I think it’s a good decision because the guys have a reasonable contract and chemistry together.
They’re capable of taking the club to the top, but it remains to be seen how high it will go.
That’s how the club will get back on the winning track.
Among the players who will be added, the name of Pierre-Luc Dubois is as popular as ever. Will Pat Brisson’s client (like Cole Caufield, incidentally) end up in Montreal?
More importantly, if so, at what price? After all, it’s safe to assume that management has, for the time being, set a maximum price for its players.
I’ve got a question for everyone: any RFA or UFA wanting to come to Montreal now knows he can’t ask for more than 7.875M AAV. Does that become a problem long term with the cap going up?
– Habs Fan TV (@habsfantv_) June 5, 2023
Marc Bergevin gave Kent Hughes a nice gift by offering Nick Suzuki $63 million over eight years. But why? Because today, the club’s captain and #1 center is a benchmark in town at $7.875 million a year.
No one is going to make me believe that Caufield earns $7.85 million a year without any connection to the captain’s contract…
Could Pierre-Luc Dubois earn at least $8 million? Because he’s a center, the situation is different from Caufield’s, but that would mean the Quebecer would surely have to ask for less than $7.875 million.
If he gets more, it means he’d be the club’s #1 center.
Especially if Dubois comes to Montreal and gets less than $8 million, it’s not because the Habs can’t pay more for a guy like him.
They really can’t.
Because yes, Dubois, who earned $6 million this year and will be RFA in a few weeks’ time, could fit nicely into the Montreal Canadiens’ salary structure.
Here’s a breakdown of the CH’s payroll right now.
- Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Kirby Dach, Jake Evans, Rem Pitlick, Juraj Slafkovsky and Michael Pezzetta: $48,000,000 for 12 forwards.
- Mike Matheson, Joel Edmundson, David Savard, Jordan Harris, Justin Barron, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Johnathan Kovacevic and Chris Wideman: $17,420,833 for nine defensemen.
- Jake Allen, Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau: $5,740,000 for three goaltenders.
- Contract buyout (Karl Alzner) and deferred bonuses from 2022-2023: $2,003,333
Excluding Carey Price ($10,500,000) from the equation, since he’ll be on the LTIR, the Habs have spent $73,164,166 to date in preparation for next year.
It will have to add at least one or two forwards (including Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, who will be RFA this summer), but it will surely have to take away a goaltender and a defenseman. There will be transactions this summer… and it’s hard to see Joel Edmundson starting the year in Montreal. So there are ways to make more room.
So Kent Hughes is going to have at least $10-11 million of cap space this summer with essentially a full roster. That number goes up if Edmundson is traded or if there’s a buyout (Hoffman? Armia?). Completely different scenario than last year, should be interesting.
– HabsLinks (@HabsLinks) June 5, 2023
So, right now, there’s $10,335,334 left to sign contracts, which isn’t bad at all for the Habs. There’s room, if you will, for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
We’d still have to agree on a price to pay the Jets and a price to pay the Quebecer in salary, if there’s a deal. But one thing at a time, okay?
In a gust
– Speak of the devil.
With his new eight-year, $62.8M contract, Cole Caufield officially becomes the Canadiens’ third-highest earner! 🤑 pic.twitter.com/BjLjwjbvvm
– RDS (@RDSca) June 5, 2023
– It’s a beautiful day in Montreal.
We could have used more! 🤗🤗 https://t.co/lzV0i1hRrA
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) June 5, 2023
– Cole Caufield had time on his side in negotiations, argues Tony Marinaro. [BPM Sports]
– Still.
Active players to hit 50 career goals in fewer career games than Cole Caufield
Alex Ovechkin
Kirill Kaprizov
Auston Matthews
Patrik Laine
Brock Boeser
Sidney CrosbyThis contract has so much value potential for Montreal. pic.twitter.com/rV8QBftSXQ
– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) June 5, 2023
– Interesting.
The Mark Stone trade revisited – how Vegas landed its captain at a bargain price. My latest from the Stanley Cup final:
via @TheAthletic https://t.co/DYLwvnnPim
– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 5, 2023
– He’ll be in demand.
If #nhljets are to trade Connor Hellebuyck, where are the potential fits?@MLarkinHockey outlines 7 possibilities, why it might make sense, and why it might not.https://t.co/uIpnBZ5x5w
– Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 5, 2023
– They’re strong.
This win now gives them a positive regular-season record against the 29 other MLB teams in their history.https://t.co/9OGqytz1pH
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) June 5, 2023