Marc Dumont
Now that the NHL has announced the salary cap will rise by $12 million, from $92 million to $104 million, it’s time to take a look at how the Montreal Canadiens are set from a financial standpoint.
Montreal Canadiens Salary Cap Projection: 2026-27
According to Cap Wages, the Canadiens currently have a little under $13M in cap space, though that doesn’t include bonuses, which should be roughly $1.9M.
Therefore, we can work with $11M in available cap space as Montreal’s funds to navigate the financial landscape heading into the summer.
However, Brendan Gallagher’s time is coming to an end, which will hopefully liberate the entire $6.5 million cap hit from the ledger, as long the Habs do not retain in the upcoming trade.
By trading Gallagher, the Canadiens will have $17.5 million in available cap space.
Restricted Free Agents
Fortunately for Kent Hughes and Company, there aren’t many high-profile restricted free agents left to sign.
There are just four RFAs in the NHL who are in need of a contract: Kirby Dach, Joe Veleno, Zachary Bolduc, and Arber Xhekaj. The only unrestricted free agent will be Patrik Laine, who will likely be allowed to walk without a new contract.
With the help of AFP Analytics, we can get a great idea of the upcoming deals with the RFAs. I did not include Veleno in this breakdown, as I get the sense the Habs will want to allow a younger player from the AHL an opportunity to make his way to the NHL. If the Canadiens do decide to keep Veleno, his projected cost would be $945,000.
Here are the projections for the three RFAs we identified as crucial:
Dach: $2.25M
Bolduc: $3.6M (short term: 2 years)
Xhekaj: $1.4M
Grand Total: $7.25M
Available Cap Space
There are many other factors in play, include potential trades, but as it stands, heading into the summer, with important restricted free agents covered, the Canadiens will have roughly $10.25M to work with, as long as they manage to trade Gallagher.
Seeing as the roster is already overcrowded, the Canadiens are likely to focus their available money in a single trade that would lead to a star player joining the fold, possibly using their draft assets to facilitate the deal.
Additionally, finding a taker for Samuel Montembeault would free up an additional $3.15M, but that’s putting the cart ahead of the horse for the time being.
Montreal Canadiens cap space information via Cap Wages.
