Projecting who the Canadiens will sign to contract extensions in the 2024 offseason
The Montreal Canadiens will have a few players eligible to receive contract extensions in the 2024 offseason, so will Kent Hughes extend anyone?
Maintaining a core of young players will be key for the Montreal Canadiens, who will have several youngsters who spent an extended time with the big club ready to keep improving their respective games for the 2024-25 season. Some will also be eligible for contract extensions in the 2024 offseason, including a couple of big-time players.
It ultimately depends on whether general manager Kent Hughes is looking to keep building his team inward or if he’s interested in adding another talent or two from the outside, as the Habs do have limited cap space this offseason - roughly $8.5 million before factoring in LTIR regarding goaltender Carey Price at the time of this writing - LTIR that will carry into next season when those eligible for an extension this summer will see their respective contracts kick in.
But if Hughes were more interested in ensuring his homegrown talent sticks around long-term or at least on a bridge deal, who will he extend once July 1st rolls around and why?
A few Canadiens players deserve contract extensions in the offseason
Something to keep in mind is that we won’t cover every player who would technically be available for a contract extension. Some, like Joel Armia, for example, won’t be listed here because it’s unlikely they will receive an extension during the offseason or at some point during the 2024-25 season.
Instead, we’re talking about younger, more notable names, so you can also forget about David Savard and unrestricted free agents for 2025 who aren’t likely to sign long-term deals like Christian Dvorak, who will be heading into his age-28 season.
I’m also focusing mainly on players who spent at least a half season with the big club, so a few others eligible for extensions will also be excluded from this list. And finally, this is not the same piece as the pending restricted free agent article from back in April, as they focused on 2024 free agents.
Juraj Slafkovsky
If there is one player Kent Hughes will look to extend before anyone else, it’s the former first-overall pick. Juraj Slafkovsky is right up there with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. If you want to talk about older players, Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher, all of whom are sticking around for quite some time.
But you can put Slafkovsky in the same realm as Suzuki and Caufield, both of whom have been stellar when healthy and will be Canadiens until at least 2030. Slafkovsky did struggle in 2022-23 and perhaps some Habs fans would be hesitant for Hughes to ink him long-term following just one good season.
However, factoring in Slafkovsky’s improvement would be wise here, as he broke into the top-six, played in all 82 contests, and more than served the Habs well on the man advantage, totaling 50 points and 14 power play points.
If Slafkovsky didn’t improve by such a large margin, it would be wise for Hughes to either wait another season before inking him to a long-term deal or, if it wasn’t there, sign him to a bridge contract.
But Slafkovsky more than showed us this season he’s only getting better. He’s another franchise player whom Hughes won’t hesitate to lock up long-term in the offseason, or at the latest, during the 2024-25 season.
Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris has 131 games of NHL experience, and he’s someone who can secure a future in the bottom-pairing for the Canadiens. But he’s not dynamic enough of a player for Kent Hughes to rush to extend him this offseason, so look for Harris, like many players on this list, to play out the last year of his deal, then re-sign next summer if he puts together a solid campaign.
Harris isn’t overtly physical, but he knows how to inconvenience would-be scorers with 195 career blocks already. He was also on the ice for just under four more goals more than expected at even strength, and it’s another positive sign that he can call Quebec home for the foreseeable future.
Cayden Primeau
It will be exciting to see what Cayden Primeau will bring to the Canadiens now that he should have the 1B/backup role to himself. He played more than well enough last season to generate hope that he, too, can factor in as a Hab for at least a few more seasons, but Kent Hughes will be in no rush to extend him this offseason.
Instead, Primeau will continue growing his game as he receives more time in the crease next year, and in the summer of 2025, he will sign another deal with the Canadiens. Primeau’s current sample size is too small for Hughes to make a decision on his future any time soon.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard
Rafael Harvey-Pinard is proving himself as a sound defensive forward with a future on the Habs lower lines. He saw action in 45 games this year and should see even more ice time next season, where he will ultimately prove he’s worth keeping around and becoming a sound member of this young core.
But since he’s likely on the lower priority list this summer, let’s not look for an extension until next offseason or shortly beforehand. Once he’s guaranteed to stay in town a little longer, Harvey-Pinard will be one of the Habs more physical forwards and a potential glue player.
Kaiden Guhle
Kaiden Guhle hasn’t broken out as a scorer, but the blueliner showed immense improvement defensively, contributing 178 blocks and 116 hits while more than maintaining top-four minutes of ice time. He also proved to be valuable on the penalty kill, and he looks like he has a future on the Habs blue line.
If anyone else will receive a contract extension in the offseason or at some point in 2024-25, it’s Guhle, with the latter likely being the likelier scenario. Juraj Slafkovsky will be the first one to receive one, but as it stands, Guhle will be the second, or at worst third, priority among the players discussed in this piece.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)