Habs can’t unload any overpriced forwards.
While the Canadiens should have no problem trading away Petry and even Weber, they won’t find it so easy to move any of their high priced forwards that are eating up countless cap space on the roster.
Jonathan Drouin has one year left on his contract with a $5.5 million cap hit. While he is effective at times when he is one the ice, he just hasn’t played consistently enough recently to be attractive via trade. Injuries, illness and off-ice issues have combined to see him miss significant time in each of the past three seasons, so he won’t be traded.
Joel Armia played well in the 2021 postseason and possesses a big frame and a smart hockey mind. Teams would love to add him as a penalty killer and depth forward with sneaky good hands, but his six goals and 14 points in 60 games isn’t attractive. Neither are the three years left on his contract with a cap hit of $3.4 million. Nobody is touching that.
Paul Byron has the same cap hit but with just one year left on the deal. He could be a decent depth add for a team looking for speed and defence on their fourth line, but they can find that for much cheaper.
Mike Hoffman signed a three-year contract with the Habs worth $4.5 million per season to be a power play specialist. He scored 15 goals and 35 points in 67 games, while brining very little defensive value. No other team is going to be interested in the last two years of that deal.
A year from now, Drouin and Byron will be free agents and maybe someone will take the final year of Hoffman’s contract. Drouin and Byron could even be trade deadline deals if the Habs struggle again and are willing to retain some salary, but they are not going anywhere in the offseason.