Montreal Canadiens: What if the NHL reduces the salary cap?

It wasn’t until an already injury-decimated roster got even worse where the Habs would recall Alzner on an emergency basis. No matter how you try to spin it, a player making that kind of money in the minors isn’t ideal.

Although the Montreal Canadiens would have the option of buying out someone else, I don’t think they would. There aren’t any other undesirable contracts on the books. Fans may say Carey Price‘s deal is too much, or Shea Weber‘s contract goes on until forever, but the Habs would never – and don’t have a reason to – part with either player.

Paul Byron, on the other hand, might be worth considering. By no means do I feel the Habs want to part ways with Byron. He started out as an optimistic waiver claim and became a key member of the team’s leadership group.

The 2019-20 season was far from being Byron’s best. He struggled to score his first goal of the season, spent most of the time in the bottom six, and battled a long-term injury.

Byron will be making $3.4 million for another three years. It isn’t an anchor of a deal, but if the team isn’t sure he can hold up, it may be an opportunity to part ways. But again, I doubt the Montreal Canadiens go this route and instead only choose to buyout Karl Alzner.

The Habs won’t have to panic if the salary cap drop is along the lines of the last one. Then again, who knows what the financial implications of this pause are. If the cap does fall, perhaps it’s a bigger decrease than we expect.