Canadiens: 10 Free Agents to Watch Leading Up to July 1

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Canadiens: 10 Free Agents to Watch Leading Up to July 1
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

Right now, all eyes are on Kent Hughes. Will he make a move or not?

To make moves in the short and medium term, he needs to keep his salary cap situation in mind. Because even if the cap goes up, signing his young players every year eats into his flexibility.

And I'm not saying that as if it were a bad thing—I like the contracts given to young players.

Currently, with 19 players signed (including three goaltenders, which could change by September) on the roster, the Canadiens have $14,223,914 in cap space, according to Puck Pedia. And they still need to sign restricted free agents, which will reduce that amount.

Between now and July 1, 2027, the Canadiens have 10 NHL players who need to be factored in when looking at the contract situation. So, which ones?

Samuel Montembeault earns $3.15 million per year and will be a free agent in a year. Will the Canadiens manage to trade him soon? We'll see.

Arber Xhekaj is currently a restricted free agent and is two years away from unrestricted free agency. What's the plan for the player who's been the subject of trade rumors for a while? What's his market value?

Jayden Struble ($1.4125 million on the cap right now) will be a restricted free agent on July 1, 2027, and an unrestricted free agent in 2029. I imagine a short-term contract is in the works for next summer.

Alexandre Carrier ($3.75 million) is one year away from full free agency. It's hard to see the Habs trading him anytime soon, but David Reinbacher's development and potential additions by Kent Hughes could affect his future with the team.

Zachary Bolduc is a restricted free agent, and full free agency isn't until 2030. Will he follow in the footsteps of Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook by signing a contract that leaves him one year away from full free agency? In his case, that would be three years.

Kirby Dach is a restricted free agent and is one year away from full free agency. Expect him to sign his $4 million qualifying offer… but keep in mind that a trade is possible in his case.

Oliver Kapanen is one year away from the end of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent (RFA) in 2027. In my opinion, it's still too early to determine what lies ahead for him.

Alex Newhook ($2.9M) is one year away from becoming a restricted free agent and two years away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. He could earn a nice pay raise if he continues to improve.

Josh Anderson ($5.5M) is one year away from becoming a free agent. I imagine that his physical condition a year from now will, in part, dictate what happens next for him.

Phillip Danault ($5.5M) is in the same boat as Josh Anderson—a veteran one year away from free agency. How deep will the center depth be a year from now? Who knows… but if he's willing to sign at a reasonable price, it's possible the Habs will keep him.

These are inevitably contractual situations that Kent Hughes must keep in mind. He certainly has projections in mind for these guys' futures with the team.

And that will affect his payroll (and his depth on the roster) for the next few years.


Quick Thoughts

– Oh.

– Nice photo.

– That's something.

– DJ Smith is one well-paid assistant coach. Before him, hitting the $1 million-a-year mark wasn't possible.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!