The Montreal Canadiens can really benefit from the flat salary cap

1) Hometown Discounts

If you ask a lot of hockey analysts, they’ll tell you that there is no such thing as a hometown discount. If you ask others, they’ll tell you hometown discounts hurt the overall team. Take Ray Ferraro, for example.

He’s not wrong on that front. Teams that aren’t afraid to spend to the cap will make use of every single dime. However, hometown discounts do happen, and they can help. One of the most famous is Crosby taking an $8.7 million cap hit with the Penguins. It didn’t seem as much of a discount at the time, and there’s the significance of the number, but his cap-hit being that relatively low helped leave room to set the tone on other deals and for more moves to be made.

Hometown discounts are really beneficial for teams that have multiple players who need to be signed at once. Let’s take the Montreal Canadiens, for example.

This offseason, they’ll have Max Domi and Victor Mete to sign. Odds are Marc Bergevin can get both of them on reasonable bridge deals as they haven’t done enough yet to warrant a massive pay raise, even if they stand out in the Stanley Cup Qualifier. The 2021 offseason is a different story.

That could be the year of massive change for the Habs. Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, Brendan Gallagher, Joel Armia and Jeff Petry are all going to be unrestricted free agents.

Losing Tatar in some way, shape or form will be the easiest pill to swallow. You could argue it would be “alright” to lose Armia as well. Gallagher, Danault and Petry are key core players on this team, and I’m sure Bergevin will want to have all three of them when they start seriously competing.

Gallagher is the heart of the Montreal Canadiens. He sets the tone and is a great example of work ethic and fighting for your goals. Danault has been a project since joining the team from Chicago and has improved in both areas of the game so much so that analysts feel he should be Selke votes. Petry is a top defenceman on the blueline and can step up and be the number one if needed.

Another thing about Petry is his importance to the future greatly depends on the growth of Josh Brook and Cale Fleury. Can we expect them to be able to take on those minutes if Petry is gone?

Age may be a factor, but Petry’s game translates to a longer NHL career than the bruting physical types, and that could be worth keeping.

At the same time, they are all determined to win with this team and for this city. That could help Bergevin get lower cap-hits for them. Framing it as, “We can’t afford to keep this team together unless everyone shaves a little bit off their deal” could make the difference. Of course, players are in their right to say no and to demand everything they’re entitled to, but a flat cap gives the Habs that option to persuade their core to stay for cheaper.