“I think Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are going to leave some money on the table again.”

Michaël Petit
“I think Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are going to leave some money on the table again.”
Credit: X

Montreal Canadiens fans are certainly very pleased with the work Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have done since they arrived.

What's most impressive is what they've been able to accomplish in terms of salary cap management and the contracts awarded to the team's core players.

When you look around the NHL, no other team's salary structure is as impressive as the Habs'.

Nick Suzuki (who, however, extended his contract under Marc Bergevin) and Cole Caufield got the ball rolling, and the rest simply followed suit.

However, even though some young players have just extended their contracts, Suzuki will be the first big name to re-sign among the core group. One wonders what his contract might look like, given that the rest of the group will likely want to follow suit.

In a recent episode of the podcast The Starr & D'Amico Show, Marco D'Amico discussed the future scenario where all these guys will be up for contract extensions, and he believes that Suzuki and Caufield will still leave money on the table.

It makes sense to think so, honestly.

They're the ones who set the standard in Montreal. Signing for a lower salary than they could command gives management more flexibility to improve the team and thus increase their chances of winning the Stanley Cup.

Caufield had openly stated during his contract extension that he absolutely wanted to sign for less than Suzuki. Juraj Slafkovsky also signed for less than the captain.

Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov secured higher annual salaries. However, it's worth noting that since Suzuki's contract extension, market rates have shifted, yet they still signed for less than they could have earned. D'Amico believes it wouldn't be surprising if Demidov and Hutson (when their new contracts expire) follow suit.

As for Noah Dobson, his situation is different, since he was acquired and had to sign a contract extension at the same time. He secured $9.5 million per season, making him the club's highest-paid player.

As D'Amico mentioned on The Starr & D'Amico Show, fans weren't generally upset that he signed for more than the captain, because he was such a major addition. Bringing in a high-caliber right-handed defenseman was well worth it.

As we know, the Habs are missing at least one key offensive piece in the top six, and given the current market, we can expect that player's salary to be quite high.

Since the core of the team has signed to low-cost contracts with the goal of helping HuGo improve the team, it's time to fill in the missing pieces—and we shouldn't wait too long.

According to D'Amico, it won't take more than a year to make this major addition (or these major additions), and fans are eagerly awaiting it—even if it means adding a hefty salary (most likely over $10 million per season).

Let's see what HuGo has in store for us.


In a nutshell

– Well.

– This is (truly) his last chance.

– A quick dinner at a restaurant.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!