Here’s what the CH’s payroll looks like with Kirby Dach’s contract

Marc-Olivier Cook
Here’s what the CH’s payroll looks like with Kirby Dach’s contract
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

Kent Hughes wrapped up a major deal today.

Kirby Dach has signed a one-year contract with the Canadiens. The player will earn $3.6 million next season.

This clears things up a bit, too. 

With Dach's contract, the Canadiens are now just under $9.8 million ($9,783,924) under the salary cap.

And Kent Hughes's work isn't done yet… because he currently has 21 players under contract for the upcoming season. Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj, who are both restricted free agents, do not yet have agreements for the '26–'27 season as of this writing.

But barring any surprises, we expect those situations to be resolved as well.

Kent Hughes has plenty of cap space to sign Xhekaj and Bolduc.

The defenseman earned $1.3M in '25–'26, and I don't expect him to get a significant pay raise. For the forward, it will mainly depend on the number of years… but we can assume he could command between $3M and $4.5M per season, given the length of his next contract.

That said, the Canadiens will still have room to maneuver if they want to make a trade, and in that regard, let's also remember that Samuel Montembeault's contract ($3.15 million) could be removed from the team's books if the goaltender is traded.

The Canadiens' GM will still be able to be aggressive in adding to his roster if the opportunity arises and if he's able to send Montembeault (and his contract) elsewhere.

And the fact that he has so much flexibility right now is a good thing.


In a Nutshell

– Wow.

– Nice contract.

– That would be… spectacular.

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