CH: No more than two major contracts to be renegotiated per year through 2035

Michaël Petit
CH: No more than two major contracts to be renegotiated per year through 2035
Credit: Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/NHLI via Getty Images

Given the recent contracts handed out across the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens are fortunate to have a young group of players who are willing to play in Montreal for a lower annual salary.

With the recent contract extensions (Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes), the Habs now have eight key young players under contract for several years: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson, Kaiden Guhle, and Jakub Dobes.

This means there are no major contracts left to renegotiate until the summer of 2030.

Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have done an excellent job of keeping the core of the team at reasonable annual salaries. However, we mustn't forget that it was Marc Bergevin who started the trend with Nick Suzuki's contract for less than $8 million per year.

In short, the future looks very bright for Montreal, especially for the next nine years.

Why do I say that? Simply because of the length of all these contracts and their expiration dates: there will be no more than two key players to re-sign each year through 2035.

TVA Sports has actually broken down all these salaries and their expiration dates in this article.

First up will be Suzuki and Dobes in 2030, Caufield in 2031, Guhle in 2032, Dobson and Slafkovsky in 2033, Hutson in 2034, and Demidov in 2035.

I'm very curious to see Suzuki's next contract, though. Obviously, we can expect a pay raise since the salary cap is going up. However, I get the impression that the “Sidney Crosby trend” could take hold in Montreal, given the city's culture and the desire to play there. And Suzuki will have the chance to set the tone, if he chooses.

For the summers of 2031 and 2032, there will be only one big name to re-sign, which is very interesting.

Furthermore, as mentioned in the TVA Sports article, there are no major no-trade clauses in this group. Typically, these clauses appear in the final years of a contract and involve either five, 10, or 15 teams on the no-trade list.

We know that no-trade/no-movement clauses are becoming increasingly popular, and they really tie management's hands when it comes time to trade a player.

In short, the Habs are in a good position to compete with the top teams for several years to come.


In a nutshell

– Unbelievable, really.

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– Goaltender Vozinha was incredible, yet again.

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