Hockey

“If I were the Habs, I’d give Nikolaj Ehlers $9.5 million a year.”
Félix Forget
“If I were the Habs, I’d give Nikolaj Ehlers $9.5 million a year.”
Credit: Getty Images

It's no huge surprise that the Canadiens are in for a big summer. The club surprised everyone this year by making it to the playoffs… and now they'll have to try to correct some of their weaknesses if they hope to return to the spring dance in a year's time.

Do I think the club will make it? Not necessarily, no… but the next few weeks will be crucial.

Obviously, just about everyone would love to see a center come to town… but there's also a world in which the club will be looking for reinforcement up front in the form of a winger. And yesterday, on Tony Marinaro's Sick Podcast, Brian Wilde mentioned Nikolaj Ehlers.

This isn't necessarily anything new (we know he's good friends with Patrik Laine, after all, and there are logical connections to be made)… but the amount is enough to raise eyebrows.

In fact, according to Wilde, the Jets forward can be expected to command an annual salary in the neighborhood of $9.5 million… and he'd be willing to pay that much to bring Ehlers to town.

At first glance, this amount is surprising. After all, we're talking about a guy who's never scored more than 64 points in a season (though he did score 63 in just 69 games this season)… and more importantly, a guy who could play on the second line in Montreal.

That's a salary nearly $2 million more than the three guys on the first line… but there's the nuance.

Yes, such a contract would make Ehlers the highest-paid player in town in 2025-26 (behind Carey Price, if his contract isn't traded this summer), but it would be signed in a salary reality quite different from that of the other players: the salary cap is about to explode over the next few years.

Previously signed contracts won't be able to be used as comparisons because the reality won't be the same… and above all, the Habs can't help paying top dollar for players just because they have good contracts on their payroll.

The real question is whether the Habs should go for Ehlers. He'd certainly help the team's top-6 and he'd be a great complementary piece to the current core… but he's not a center and he's not a big guy, so he may not be the ideal fit.

On the other hand, the ideal fit may never materialize. And that's where management will have to make some big decisions: is it worth passing up Ehlers (if he's interested in signing for Montreal, of course) to wait for a bigger fish who may never come along?

Did I mention that it's going to be a big summer for the Canadiens?


Overtime

– Here's Ivan Demidov's thank-you video for being named KHL Rookie of the Year. As you may recall, he won it in a twist of fate.

– Jonathan Toews is ready to return to the NHL. I have a feeling the Jets are the favorites to sign him.

– Tyson Foerster reaches agreement with Flyers.

– Interesting.

– Interesting.

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