The Canadiens have the fewest contracts of any team in the NHL

As you may know, each NHL team is allowed 50 contracts. This includes, among others, prospects and AHL players under contract with the parent club.

Right now, the Canadiens officially have 37 contracts on their books.

And when you compare that to the rest of the league on PuckPedia, you realize that no other team in the league currently has as many as 13 open spots to make additions.

You might say that, in reality, the Habs can't add 13 players. That Bryce Pickford, once he plays at the pro level, will count against the cap. That Zachary Bolduc, Arber Xhekaj, Sean Farrell, Jared Davidson, Hunter McKown, and Maksymilian Szuber still need to sign.

That's true. But other teams also still have exceptions like that… Bogdan Konyushkov won't count toward the roster once he's loaned to his Russian club… and I'm painting the picture as of today.

If we add the seven players named above and remove Bogdan from the picture, the Habs are at 43. So they still have plenty of room to play around if they feel like it.

Does that mean Kent Hughes is planning something?

We can't conclude, just by looking at this, that Hughes is going to make a move. We know he wants to, and his contract situation allows him to do so… but he has to make a trade to make it happen.

We mustn't forget that Bogdan, Alexander Zharovsky, and Michael Hage will (potentially) need a spot among the top 50 by the end of the 2026–2027 season. Other prospects could be in the same boat.

But even though he needs to be cautious—because costs can rise quickly—Kent Hughes has the means to make moves if he wants to. We have yet another example of this with the contracts.

It remains to be seen whether he'll do so before the start of the season or during the season.

In a nutshell

– Note.

I can confirm that the Prime Minister himself has held discussions with Céline Dion's inner circle in Las Vegas. He discussed several topics, including a potential performance by Ms. Dion in Montreal.

The odds of seeing Céline Dion perform… https://t.co/lnibzOOEsC

— Maxime Truman (@MaximeTruman) July 17, 2026

– Hmm…

That would be a major coup. https://t.co/8g8Dzghc0m https://t.co/AlSULJ1mpa

— Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) July 17, 2026

– Something to keep an eye on.

Everyone's keeping their fingers crossed that the smoke clears up by thenhttps://t.co/IVouVpwQX4

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) July 17, 2026

– Nice photo.

Ivan Demidov & Alexander Zharovsky at an autograph signing. pic.twitter.com/lnxCuhQJr6

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 17, 2026

– Who will be the next to sign?

Plenty of notable names are still on the market

Sportsnet's @lukefoxjukebox ranks his top 10 UFAs still available a couple of weeks into free agency pic.twitter.com/ktF1n1D0uH

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 17, 2026

– Let's be clear: he was shown the door.

Ansar Khan: On Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings: I don't believe he stepped down; he was basically shown the door – Oilers Now (7/16)

— NHL Rumor Report (@NHLRumorReport) July 17, 2026