The Montreal Canadiens are set to begin the 2024-25 NHL season with approximately $5.45MM in cap space. With no other restricted free agents left to sign, the organization may weaponize its cap space and effectively buy draft and prospect capital (Article Link).
The Canadiens hold a major trump card up their sleeve as the team could still place goaltender Carey Price on long-term injured reserve once this season begins which would open up another $10.5MM in cap space for next season. Montreal is no stranger to weaponizing their cap space as general manager Kent Hughes has swung trades in the past which netted them a first-round pick for taking on the contract of Sean Monahan and a second-round pick to take on 40% of Jeff Petry’s salary.
There are several teams close to the cap including the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, and Nashville Predators. A few of these organizations will utilize LTIR in their own right once the season opens up to shed some salary but some could call the Canadiens in the upcoming weeks to gain some financial breathing room for next season.
Other Atlantic notes:
- Veteran forward Kyle Clifford refuses to hang up his skates as Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News reports Clifford has re-upped with the Toronto Marlies on an AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. Clifford is a veteran of 753 games at the NHL level with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs while helping the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2014. For the better part of the last three seasons, Clifford has been riding out the twilight years of his career with the Marlies. In 108 games with the storied AHL franchise, Clifford has scored 21 goals and 51 points while collecting 224 PIMs.
- The Buffalo Sabres offensive core has become a little too crowded for prospect Jiri Kulich. In an article today from Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, the Sabres organization is waiting for Kulich to ’tear up the league’ before giving him a full-time shot at the NHL level. The young forward has been a solid scorer for the Rochester Americans over the last two years as he’s scored 51 goals in 119 games and another seven goals in 17 postseason contests. Buffalo is looking for Kulich to expand upon his 0.76 PPG thus far and raise his level to one of the better point producers at the AHL level.
“storied AHL franchise?” The Marlies have been around for less than twenty years. It’s been a successful team, and has won a Calder Cup, but we’re not precisely talking about Hershey or Rochester.