Montreal Canadiens: Three Contracts Habs Need To Move ASAP

Paul Byron

Paul Byron went from one of the most underpaid players in the league to one with a contract that was a bit too rich when Marc Bergevin gave him the extension he is currently playing under.

When he was making less than $2 million and scoring 20 goals, he was a bargain and a great player to have on the team’s third line and penalty kill. Then came the new contract, and the production dried up at the same time.

Injuries certainly have not helped, as Byron has played just 102 games in the past three years combined. That’s all while making $3.4 million per season against the cap. He scored at a 20 goal pace in each of the three previous seasons, but has just 13 goals in those 102 games since he became a far richer man.

Byron is a great leader to have in the room and a quality teammate. But he just isn’t worth his cap hit anymore. At 33 years of age, he is heading into the final year of his contract. If anyone else is willing to take it on to add a veteran to their bottom six, the Canadiens should be happy to hand him over just to clear the cap space off the books.