Montreal Canadiens: Way Too Early Predictions for Habs Offseason
Habs trade Shea Weber for a draft pick.
It would have been unthinkable about a year ago, but it seems almost guaranteed that the Canadiens will trade both Jeff Petry and Shea Weber this offseason.
Petry wanted out early in the season, and though he continued to play for the Canadiens, his time in Montreal appears over. Weber is not going to play again, but that isn’t going to stop the Habs from trading him. They actually came close already.
#Habs Hughes said he is “relatively optimistic we’ll be able to do something” regarding Shea Weber’s contract, based on coming close to trading him prior to trade deadline. @TSN_Edge
— John Lu (@JohnLuTSNWpg) March 21, 2022
Weber still technically has four years left on his contract with a cap hit just under $8 million. Since he is not going to play again, he doesn’t need to be paid by his NHL team since the contract is insured. Even if he was to be paid, the final four years on his contract combine to see him earn a total of $6 million.
So, a team could acquire him and not put him on long-term injured reserve and he would eat up about $8 million against the cap. Teams that spend to the cap wouldn’t want this, but it would help a smaller market team reach the salary cap floor. Acquiring Weber would essentially help an owner save $32 million over the next four years.
So, welcome to Arizona, Shea Weber’s contract. There is a ton of value financially for the Coyotes to acquire Weber, like they have done previously with Marian Hossa, Pavel Datsyuk, Dave Bolland and Bryan Little.