With less than a week to go until July 1st, the Montreal Canadiens will have to make an important decision that will affect their salary cap for years to come, to spend or not to spend.
As of right now, the Montreal Canadiens have $8.7 million available in cap space, not counting the increase when Karl Alzner is sent to Laval. This space can be used to sign one of the top free agents available along with the team’s RFAs.
Two players come to mind when looking at the needs of the Montreal Canadiens. These two players are Matt Duchene and Jake Gardiner. While both players would be costly and each will have their own benefits and risks, either one of them would solve a need.
Do They Really Need Matt Duchene?
Per TSN’s Darren Dreger, Matt Duchene travelled to Montreal to meet with the Canadiens and General Manager Marc Bergevin before his meeting with the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
Duchene met with the Montreal Canadiens today. https://t.co/Vy2XZjgBne
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 27, 2019
On a more personal level, Matt Duchene grew up in a French-Canadian family with his father and grandfather growing up Habs fans. This could be something that entices Duchene to sign, but as Johnston also mentioned, Matt Duchene is making a business decision.
Of note on free agent Matt Duchene, who met with the #habs yesterday. He's an Ontario kid with deep roots to the team. In late April, he said: "My family is all French Canadian and we grew up with the Habs. When I was a young kid, my Dad and my Grandpa loved the Habs."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 27, 2019
Matt Duchene’s talent is undeniable, but there are two issues with the Montreal Canadiens signing him. The first one being the cap hit and the second being the logjam that signing Matt Duchene creates at the centre position.
Duchene can easily find a team willing to sign him to a long-term deal with a cap hit of $9 million or more. This is something the Canadiens would have to avoid because it would cripple their salary and lead to further issues down the road when the time comes to sign players such as Max Domi, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Victor Mete.