The Montreal Canadiens are in the dog days of a busy offseason, yet a very quiet free agency period. The team isn’t looking to put itself over the top for next season, nor do they have the money to spend right now anyway.
They should have plenty of money to spend in future years on free agents if they choose to do so. Jonathan Drouin, Evgeni Dadonov, Paul Byron and Jake Allen are all entering the final year of their contracts, and none are expected back the following year.
Cole Caufield needs a new contract for the 2023-24 season, but even if he commands $7 million, just letting the four aforementioned players walk would give the Habs an extra $7 million or so in cap space.
The Canadiens aren’t the most attractive free agent destination for players, with the terrible weather and harsh tax situation compared to other NHL cities. So, when a big free agent wants to head to Montreal, it would normally be wise for them to take advantage of that rare opportunity.
Jonathan Huberdeau, from Saint-Jerome, Quebec, might have been one of those rare free agents who actually are interested in signing with the Canadiens. The star left winger had 85 assists and 115 points last season, and was traded to the Calgary Flames in the Matthew Tkachuk deal.
A star left winger from the province of Quebec changing teams just one year before he could be a free agent was definitely a potential target for the Canadiens. Had he hit the open market, it would be hard not to imagine how great a playmaker like Huberdeau would have fit on a line with a sniper like Cole Caufield.
However, Huberdeau will be 30 years old when his current contract expires, and signing him would have required a seven year commitment for the Canadiens. Signing a star player would be great, but having to get the second half, and worse half, of their careers isn’t ideal.
Had Huberdeau hit the open market in the summer of 2023, it would have put Kent Hughes in a bit of an awkward spot. He would have a hard time explaining to the fan base that he took a pass on a star winger from nearby, and instead chose to continue building slowly through the NHL Draft.
Trying to speed up that rebuilding process by spending crazy money in free agency rarely works for NHL teams. There are countless players around the league on brutal contracts that they were barely worth in year one, and aren’t giving back near their value in year six or seven.
That’s why it was a bit of a blessing for the Habs when Huberdeau re-signed with Calgary. He inked an eight year contract extension with a cap hit of $10.5 million. That is exactly the same contract the Carey Price signed with the Habs in 2017. He was 30 years old, coming off a stellar season where he posted a 2.23 GAA and a .923 SV%, was third in voting for the Vezina Trophy, and then he signed a max-term contract.
Price still has four years left on that contract, and has very little chance of playing like a $10.5 million player for any of those seasons. That’s the risk with a long term contract signed by a 30 year old.
Had Huberdeau become a free agent and wanted to play in Montreal, Hughes would have been almost obligated to talk contract with him. However, the Saint-Jerome native chose to stay in Calgary until he turns 38, and is extremely unlikely to be worth that contract for the final four years.
Though he would have been great in Montreal for a couple years, the Canadiens are fortunate to not be shackled salary cap wise by a huge contract to an aging star.
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