The Montreal Canadiens have one thing that many teams don’t right now – cap space. How will they choose to use it?
The Montreal Canadiens have one advantage on many teams in the league this offseason. While most teams are worried about when they will make money from selling tickets again, and some teams like the Arizona Coyotes, are checking under the couch cushions in the locker room for loose change they can use to pay Clayton Keller, the Habs are a little more comfortable.
They have been one of the richest teams in the league for many years, but that may prove to be more of an advantage than ever before during this offseason.
The Canadiens could choose to go out and bid for the top free agents. Or, they could decide to weaponize their cap room in another way. They could look to acquire an overpaid player, and a draft pick, for little of nothing in return.
We have seen general manager Marc Bergevin make this kind of trade before. The Winnipeg Jets were desperate for some cap space two years ago and wanted to move out Steve Mason who was set to make $4.5 million in the last year of his contract. The Canadiens agreed to take on Mason, but also wanted Joel Armia, a promising, smart, young player and a couple of late draft picks as well.
The only thing headed back to the Jets was Simon Bourque who was far down the list of top prospects in the organization at the time.
More recently, we have seen the Detroit Red Wings take on the final year of Marc Staal’s contract from the New York Rangers. They also received a second round pick for helping the Rangers free up $5.7 million in cap space.
Last year, the Carolina Hurricanes were gifted a first round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for taking on the final year of Patrick Marleau’s contract.
Could the Canadiens do the same thing before next week’s NHL Draft? They have the cap space and the financial flexibility. They have struggled to attract free agents in the past, so maybe taking on money to add a high pick that they can trade for a star player is a better play?
If they do decide to go this route, what kind of trade could we expect?