Here’s the slack Kent Hughes will have this summer

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Here’s the slack Kent Hughes will have this summer
Credit: NHL.com

On the heels of the recent signing of Alexandre Texier, Kent Hughes took another step toward building his roster for the 2026-2027 season.

I know, I know: Texier was a restricted free agent. The odds were stacked against him staying in Montreal for next season.

But what I'm saying is that the GM went looking for one more certainty in his projected payroll.

Leaving aside entry-level contracts, the Canadiens currently have nine forwards under contract worth at least $2.5 million for the 2026-2027 season.

Who are they?

  • Nick Suzuki; $7.875 million
  • Cole Caufield: $7.85 million
  • Juraj Slafkovsky: $7.6 million
  • Brendan Gallagher: $6.5 million
  • Josh Anderson: $5.5 million
  • Phillip Danault: $5.5 million
  • Alex Newhook: $2.9 million
  • Jake Evans: $2.85 million
  • Alexandre Texier: $2.5 million

And let's not forget that Oliver Kapanen ($925,000) and Ivan Demidov ($940,833) will also be there, on the final year of their entry-level contracts.

Who will be the club's free agents among the forwards currently in the NHL?

  • Restricted: Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno
  • Unrestricted: Patrik Laine, Samuel Blais

At this point, Laine should go. Guys like Blais and Veleno, if they stay, will earn roughly the same salary as in 2025-2026 – or will be replaced by guys making around minimum wage.

Bolduc shouldn't get a big salary increase… and the most unpredictable factor is Kirby Dach's contract. Will the Habs give him $4 million or let him go?

If I had to bet, I'd say the Habs will keep him.

Defensively and in front of the net, only Arber Xhekaj ($1.3M on the block right now, restricted free agent this summer) will be out of contract on July 1. No one expects him to triple his salary, let's put it that way.

(Credit: Twitter)

According to Cap Wages, looking ahead to next season, and considering the players currently in the NHL, the Canadiens will have close to $14.6 million left on a projected cap of $104 million. This projection was made before the dismissal of two players.

Obviously, this amount does not take into account players without contracts. And we'll have to play with that figure a little.

We're going to add Texier's contract (the platform doesn't even take that into account) in addition to giving $4 million to Dach, $2 million to Bolduc, and $2 million to Xhekaj. These are just projections.

However, we're going to remove Beck's contract (because we're only going to go with 13 forwards, as the Habs like to do at the start of the year if possible) and Jacob Fowler's. We're not going to go with three forwards. The Habs aren't going to go with three goalies next October.

Roughly speaking, for a line-up of about 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies, we're looking at just under six million dollars' worth of lousse.

Don't take this precise amount for cash: it's approximate. And it could change if youngsters were to break into the line-up at training camp 2026 and if Kent Hughes were to trade one or more players from the current roster… which is likely.

But what this tells us is that the Habs may not have the means to make two big personnel moves without coming out of salary. They can make one, though.

Will it happen? Will a top-6 player come to town this summer? And if so, are we talking about a center or a winger?


overtime

– There was no one in Brossard this morning. Are the injured players going to practice in Ottawa with the others? Could we see an injured player return to action?

– Well, well.

– Of note.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!