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The salary cap has gone up and it shows

 David Miller
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The salary cap has gone up and it shows
Credit: Getty Images
Yesterday, NHL executives gave away over a billion dollars to NHL players. Most of this, of course, went to uncompensated free agents.

The Habs got in on the fun, but via Juraj Slafkovsky.

Otherwise, if we consider UFAs only, the Habs were the least active team. Only Alex Barré-Boulet, who is not guaranteed to start the season in Montreal, was signed.

But elsewhere in the NHL, it’s been crazy.

In fact, it looks like the salary cap has gone up significantly for the first time in a long time. After all, some teams have gone completely crazy.

The Maple Leafs, for example, gave overly large contracts to over-aged defensemen. Giving Chris Tanev six years and Oliver Ekman-Larsson four is really intense.

I love the NBA for this: the contracts are (really) crazy, but at least they’re short/medium term.

But the Maple Leafs aren’t the only ones who went overboard.

Among former Canadiens, Sean Monahan (five years, $5.5 M per year in Columbus) and Joel Edmundson (four years, $3.85 M per year in Los Angeles) have had too much money.

Even Tyler Toffoli (four years, $6 million a year in San Jose) is a big contract for a guy who’s already not the fastest… but his contract is not as bad as the other two.

Will the Lightning, who preferred to give Jake Guentzel $63 million rather than $32 million for captain Steven Stamkos, regret it? I think they will in the short term… but at some point, the $9 million a year could hurt.

We could also talk about Jake DeBrusk, Brandon Montour, Anthony Duclair, Matt Roy, Chandler Stephenson, all the money Barry Trotz has spent recently (Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Brady Skjei… and even Juuse Saros, if you stretch it), for example.

We could also, if we step outside the July 1 framework, talk about Pierre-Luc Dubois being added to the Caps’ payroll. #CapFriendly

Yes, seeing the salary cap go up has caused clubs to go crazy. And meanwhile, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are saving themselves for the long haul, which is wiser.

In a few years’ time, the Habs are betting that they’ll be the ones laughing their heads off. And in light of some of the contracts offered yesterday, I have no trouble believing that.


Overtime

– Speaking of mistakes… Ottawa, quessé ça? #Chychrun

– Other contracts confirmed.

– Who’s still available?

– Of note: only nine players in the 2022 draft have played at least 10 games in the NHL. One of them has just signed an eight-year, $60.8 million contract.

(Credit: Hockey DB)
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