- In an interview with TSN 690 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that an insurance issue prevented the Canadiens from moving Shea Weber’s contract to Arizona at the trade deadline. He cited there was some extra paperwork that had to be completed plus a payout; with so many moving parts in the hours leading up to the deadline, they basically ran out of time. Dreger added that he believes a Weber trade will be able to be done this summer. He has four years left on his deal with a $7.857MM AAV but just $6MM total in remaining salary over that span.
Canadiens Rumors
Canadiens To Face Sizable Bonus Overage Penalty
It was a tough year for the Canadiens, to put it lightly. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season, they finished dead last in the standings this season and have the highest cap payroll in the NHL with Shea Weber being on LTIR for the entire year and Carey Price for most of it. The end result was zero banked cap space during the season.
That means that any bonuses earned during the course of the 2021-22 season will have to be charged against their spending limit for the 2022-23 campaign. As CapFriendly points out (Twitter link), that is a fairly significant amount as it totals $1.1325MM, broken down as follows:
Nick Suzuki: $537.5K
Cole Caufield: $300K
Alexander Romanov: $212.5K
Jordan Harris: $82.5K
Montreal already had over $81.5MM in commitments for next season (per CapFriendly) before even factoring in this bonus overage. As a result, they are effectively over the cap for next year already before factoring in Weber’s expected return to LTIR while the uncertainty surrounding Price’s future will cloud things as well.
The list of free agents for the Canadiens isn’t overly long with many of their prominent rentals being moved at the deadline. Romanov and Rem Pitlick highlight the pending restricted free agents while Chris Wideman and Mathieu Perreault are among their unrestricted free agents. Romanov will be eyeing a sizable raise from his $894K entry-level cap hit while Pitlick, a midseason waiver claim, ended his season with 37 points in 66 games, putting him in line for a decent increase in his first trip through arbitration eligibility. The good news is that re-signing their players shouldn’t be too costly but they may need to make moves to free up space for those deals depending on Price’s situation.
With the Canadiens squarely in a rebuild, GM Kent Hughes was already going to be looking to clear out some veterans. But with this penalty basically putting them over the cap for next season already, the need to clear some contracts out of necessity will certainly increase.
NHL Announces 2022 Draft Lottery Odds
With the conclusion of the 2022 regular season coming this afternoon after the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in regulation, the entire league standings are finally settled, and so are the odds for the 2022 NHL Draft Lottery, which will take place on Tuesday, May 10th, at 6:30 pm ET. The odds, which increase in reverse order of the NHL standings, are as follows (link):
Montreal Canadiens – 18.5%
Arizona Coyotes – 13.5%
Seattle Kraken – 11.5%
Philadelphia Flyers – 9.5%
New Jersey Devils – 8.5%
Chicago Blackhawks* – 7.5%
Ottawa Senators – 6.5%
Detroit Red Wings – 6.0%
Buffalo Sabres – 5.0%
Anaheim Ducks – 3.5%
San Jose Sharks – 3.0%
Columbus Blue Jackets – 2.5%
New York Islanders – 2.0%
Winnipeg Jets – 1.5%
Vancouver Canucks – 0.5%
Vegas Golden Knights** – 0.5%
* As a result of the Seth Jones trade on July 23, 2021, Chicago will transfer their 2022 first-round pick to Columbus, unless it is a top-two pick, at which point they will transfer their 2023 first-round pick instead.
** As a result of the Jack Eichel trade on November 4, 2021, Vegas will transfer its 2022 first-round pick to Buffalo, unless it is a top-ten pick, at which point they will transfer their 2023 first-round pick instead.
As a reminder, the NHL announced changes to the rules for the operation of the draft lottery on March 23, 2021, which in effect limits the amount of spots certain teams may move up. Teams are not eligible to move up more than 10 spots in the lottery; so, only the eleven teams with the highest odds can receive the first-overall pick. For example, the San Jose Sharks have the potential to receive the first overall selection, however the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have the next-highest odds, cannot select any higher than second overall. In previous years, any team in the lottery was eligible to move up to the first, second, or third position.
Another change to the lottery this year will be that only two teams will be chosen in the lottery, unlike previous years when three were selected. Then, like previous years, the remaining teams will be awarded their selection in reverse order of the NHL standings. This change means that a team with the highest odds, this year Montreal, will be guaranteed a top-three selection, whereas they could drop to as low as fourth in previous lotteries.
Although the odds drop off steeply as the list goes on, the lottery is still worth paying attention to for fans of the lower teams. Sure, Montreal is much more likely to win one of the two lotteries than the Islanders or Jets, however previous teams with poor odds have prevailed, most notably including the 2017 Flyers and 2020 Rangers.
Petry Doesn't Rule Out Return To Montreal, Gallagher Declines Invite For The Worlds
- Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry told reporters, including TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link), that he hasn’t closed the door on staying in Montreal. The veteran blueliner requested a trade midseason but played much better in the second half under interim head coach Martin St. Louis, finishing up with 21 points in his final 28 games this season after having just six points through his first 40 contests. Petry has three years left on his contract with a $6.25MM AAV.
Carey Price’s Playing Future Uncertain
Canadiens goaltender Carey Price missed most of the season with knee issues dating back to offseason surgery. While he was able to play in a handful of games – including last night – he also had to sit for nearly a week after just four games to undergo testing due to continued swelling.
Speaking at his end-of-season media availability (video link), the veteran told reporters that if the problems with his knee stay the same, he doesn’t think he will be able to come back. To that end, he acknowledged that he approached Friday’s game against Florida as if it was his final NHL contest.
It’s not a guarantee yet that this will be the eventual outcome as Price did mention that further testing is still required and he’d be going for a second opinion on the results so there won’t be any immediate confirmation on that front. Another surgery is an option as well and the 34-year-old isn’t ruling out going down that route which could potentially allow him to return to play.
Price has been a fixture between the pipes for Montreal since he was drafted fifth overall back in 2005. He has spent his entire 15-year NHL career with the Canadiens and is their franchise leader in games played and wins while sitting third in shutouts.
He has four years remaining on his contract, one that carries a $10.5MM cap hit, the highest in NHL history for a goaltender. Price admitted that if he is able to return, he doesn’t see himself being able to withstand the workload of a typical starting goaltender which would put some extra pressure on veteran backup Jake Allen, who also battled significant injury issues this season.
If Price doesn’t return, he’d become eligible to go back on LTIR which would then give them the ability to spend over the cap to bring in a replacement player. Such a move would be difficult, however, unless he was ruled out for the entire year before the start of free agency. If Price was to start next year on LTIR with an intention of returning, Montreal would likely have to fill his spot internally with either pending RFA Sam Montembeault or prospect Cayden Primeau forming the tandem with Allen.
After their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final last summer, it was revealed that one of their franchise cornerstones in Shea Weber was seeing his playing days come to an end. Not even twelve months later, it’s possible that the Canadiens will be in that situation again with their franchise netminder.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Martin St. Louis
The Canadiens’ season was an incredibly difficult one, with the team falling from Stanley Cup Finalists in 2020-21 to last in the NHL in 2021-22. Longtime GM Marc Bergevin departed the post he had held for nearly a decade, and the team hired former Rangers GM Jeff Gorton and player agent Kent Hughes to lead their new era of hockey operations. While the Canadiens still managed to lose enough to finish dead last in the league, the arrival of Martin St. Louis as interim head coach injected some much-needed life and optimism to the team. Now as their season concludes, it looks as though St. Louis’ time as Canadiens coach is set to continue. As relayed by Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, St. Louis “will be back” as the Canadiens’ coach next season, pending the completion of a contract with the Canadiens’ management team. In today’s exit interview, Hughes confirmed that sentiment, stating that there is “interest on both sides” that St. Louis returns and that an official deal would be “finalized soon.”
This should come as no great surprise, given the deep connections between St. Louis and the Canadiens’ new management team, but both St. Louis and the Canadiens’ brass had been cautious about sounding too committal on St. Louis’ future for these past few months. That has changed more recently, though. Speaking in an interview on the first intermission broadcast of last night’s TSN coverage of the Canadiens’ 10-2 victory over the Florida Panthers, Gorton made a firmer indication of his desire to have St. Louis return. Asked directly if St. Louis would return next season, Gorton said “I hope so,” and went further to elaborate on why he wants St. Louis back, stating that he is “a natural-born leader, he has a high energy, he’s got a passion for the game. He belongs in the game. We’re hopeful we can find a way to bring him back.”
Given the early returns of St. Louis’ time as the Canadiens’ coach, it isn’t difficult to see why the Canadiens’ top brass would be such big believers in his future as a coach. Under St. Louis, the Canadiens went 14-19-4, and although that record is not one to be proud of in a vacuum, within the context of the Canadiens’ season and given the state of the team he inherited, that’s a record that is worthy of commendation. But his record is not what is driving much of the optimism around St. Louis, though. The Canadiens were playing lifeless hockey late in the tenure of the previous coach Dom Ducharme, and it is the stylistic changes and changes in energy that St. Louis brought that is driving much of the excitement about his coaching future. Numerous Canadiens players saw their seasons revived under St. Louis, perhaps none more so than rookie Cole Caufield. Caufield was sitting at one goal when Ducharme was replaced and was widely considered to be one of the NHL’s bigger rookie disappointments. But under St. Louis, he has unlocked the upside that made him a top prospect and finished this season near the top of the NHL’s rookie goal-scoring race with 23 goals. He finished with 35 points in St. Louis’ 37 games coached, a pace of 77 points over the course of a full regular season. With that level of resurgence for one of the Canadiens’ most important players, along with other players’ seeing their seasons revived (such as Christian Dvorak, Jeff Petry, and Mike Hoffman), it seems as though the Canadiens’ group of players responds well to St. Louis’ style.
St. Louis has little formal coaching experience, and as a result, there will always be criticism of the Canadiens’ level of commitment to him so early in his coaching career. But his impact on the team is at this point undeniable, and with St. Louis returning, the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, and the Canadiens potentially selecting one of the draft’s top players, this summer looks to be one of optimism for Canadiens fans.
Update On Carey Price
While the return of Carey Price to the Montreal Canadiens lineup helped clear the murkiness surrounding his immediate health situation, it did not make his future in Montreal any more certain. Price, who is set to turn 35 before next season, has been one of the best goalies of his generation but questions have surfaced regarding his future with the only NHL team he has ever known. It has been speculated that Price’s healthy return could pave the way for goaltending-needy teams to consider acquiring him in the offseason, but it now seems that idea may not be very realistic.
In an interview with TSN on their broadcast of the team’s contest against the Panthers, Canadiens Executive VP of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton was asked about Price’s future with his team. Gorton was relatively non-committal, speaking in broad terms about meeting with Price and trying to “see what he wants to do” after the season ended. But after he gave that expectedly vague statement, Gorton did shed some light on how he views Price’s role in the Canadiens’ future. Gorton said: “If [Price] can be healthy, we’d be crazy not to want him.” While that comment is just an answer on a television interview and not any sort of binding statement regarding Price’s future, it does indicate that despite the Canadiens taking a more rebuild-oriented approach to their new regime’s early days, they still have Price in their plans moving forward.
Carey Price Visiting Surgeon To Check On Knee
- After it came to light yesterday that Carey Price would consult with his surgeon about his knee, many eyebrows raised around the hockey world. The veteran goaltender only just made his return to the ice recently, playing in four games for the Montreal Canadiens. While he’s only listed as day-to-day, Price’s visit should raise some concern, according to Eric Engels of Sportsnet, who questions the future of the netminder in the NHL should he be facing another long rehab. Price is signed through the 2025-26 season and carries a cap hit of $10.5MM.
Latest On Carey Price
- Carey Price has made his return to the Montreal Canadiens, but that doesn’t mean his future is made any more certain. In another note from TSN’s Insider Trading program, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun gave an update on Price’s status. LeBrun reports that Price “wants to play next season” as a number-one priority for him, but in order to do so, he needs to have full health in the injured knee that cost him so many games this season. According to LeBrun, not a certainty that Price’s knee can get there. Lebrun doesn’t cast any majorly pessimistic forecasts on Price’s health, but he does state that there is “a bit of uncertainty” to Price’s health situation that may complicate not only his future but also the future of the Canadiens.
Michael Hage Headed To USHL
The USHL’s Chicago Steel landed a top CHL prospect when they signed a tender agreement with Macklin Celebrini earlier this month, and now they’ve done it again. Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that Michael Hage has also signed a tender with the Steel, and will pass on the chance to play in the OHL.
Hage, 16, was expected to be a top-five pick in the upcoming OHL draft after his incredible performance at the 2022 OHL Cup, a tournament for the best U16 teams from Ontario and the United States. The young forward registered seven goals and 16 points for the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, only trailing Michael Misa–the latest player to be granted exceptional status into the CHL–in both categories.
While Misa is a top prospect for the 2025 draft, Hage is eligible for the 2024 event and figures to be a potential first-round selection at this point. While there’s still lots of time for that to change, joining the powerhouse Steel program should certainly help his development. It also means that Hage will retain his NCAA eligibility, perhaps leading to an opportunity to play college hockey in the future–something that disappears when a player suits up in the OHL.
At any rate, Hage will still likely be selected at some point in the OHL draft later this week and a team will hold his rights to try and convince him down the road. Fans in Chicago will be lucky enough to see him as he takes the next steps toward NHL relevance.