Now that Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens have finally acquired their coveted top-6 forward in Patrik Laine, we have some new information on what’s next.
Adding Laine’s $8.7 million per year salary forces Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton to make more moves if they want to start the season without placing Carey Price’s contract on LTIR.
Kent Hughes will maneuver to start the season with Carey Price’s contract, even after acquiring Patrik Laine
And that’s exactly what they want because it comes with significant financial advantages.
“During his Monday press conference, Kent Hughes said he thinks he can start the season without having to place Carey Price on LTIR by then.
It’s good in terms of the salary cap because placing a player on LTIR during the summer has a negative impact.”
– Marc-Olivier Cook
Marco D’Amico explains it very well here, but Kent Hughes will do everything possible to start the season without placing Carey Price’s contract on LTIR.
As reported by the site RG.org, the Canadiens have a few options.
Specifically, we have three options.
1- Complete another trade
2- Place another player on the injured list before the season starts, like with Christian Dvorak in 2023. (in case of injury during camp)
3- Play musical chairs with their roster to start the season.
According to RG sources, the third option is currently preferred by Kent Hughes and his colleagues.
In short, don’t hold your breath, the Canadiens don’t intend to add salary before October.
Laine will most likely be Kent Hughes’ final summer acquisition, barring a major surprise, so we can forget about seeing a player like Kris Letang join the Montreal Canadiens in the next few weeks.
So, to answer the initial question, no, don’t expect Kent Hughes to announce a new trade within a month, at least not an impactful one.
For those who wanted to see Kris Letang, Trevor Zegras, Martin Necas, and company will have to wait.
The only possibility might be Rutger McGroarty, due to his annual salary being less than a million dollars, but even then, I really think Hughes and Gorton will focus on the current roster.
Bring on the start of the 2024 Montreal Canadiens training camp!
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