Canadiens’ Best Trade Partners For Cap-Dump Summer Deals

The Montreal Canadiens are in a prime position to take advantage of their cap-strapped rivals thanks to their substantial salary cap space and strategic use of Carey Price’s contract.

With all their free agents signed, the Canadiens have over $5.5 million in cap space, providing them with significant flexibility. This financial room is crucial because several teams are right up against the salary cap and may need to offload some contracts to become cap-compliant.

The Canadiens are in an interesting situation, as NHL betting odds aren’t pegging them to make the playoffs, meaning they can get creative again this summer in an effort to help advance their rebuild.

The Montreal Canadiens’ unique advantage comes from Carey Price’s $10.5 million contract, which, while not set to expire for another two years, can be placed on Long-Term Injury Reserve (LTIR). This move would free up even more cap space, allowing Montreal to absorb large contracts from other teams.

This strategy has been effective in the past, such as in 2022 when they acquired a first-round pick from the Calgary Flames by taking on Sean Monahan’s contract. Similarly, in 2023, they secured a second-round pick and additional assets from the Pittsburgh Penguins by retaining part of Jeff Petry’s salary.

Given this setup, Montreal is well-equipped to target teams  in tight cap situations that could benefit from offloading high-salary players on short-term deals. Montreal can use its cap space to take on these contracts in exchange for valuable assets, such as draft picks or prospects, enhancing their long-term rebuilding effort.

But which teams would make the most sense to target in such trades?

Let’s take a look:

Lou’s Last Hurrah

Time is of the essence for the New York Islanders, who are right up against the NHL salary cap with a projected spend of $88M for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.

But here’s the catch, that’s only if they decide to ice a 22-man roster, rather than the traditional 23-man roster. It means that, should they run into any short-term injury trouble, the Islanders, who just barely made the playoffs last year, would be short-handed for weeks at a time.

The sad reality for Lou Lamoriello’s Islanders is that this may be the last opportunity for this current core will have to make a bang in the playoffs. That’s because they have some big contract negotiations coming next summer with Alexander Romanov, Noah Dobson, Brock Nelson and more; with only $22M in projected cap space to get it all done.

With that being said, moving a player like Jean-Gabriel Pageau may be ideal, as he holds a $5M cap hit for the next two seasons. The Islanders would likely need to include a high pick or a top prospect in order to get him off the books, and that could be exactly what the Canadiens need to make such a move.

Adding Pageau even if only to be flipped at 50% immediately, like Jeff Petry was last summer, or down the line, like the Canadiens intended on doing with Sean Monahan, could be a valuable endeavour.

The Long March Back To The Finals

The Edmonton Oilers are currently $354,167 over the salary cap at the moment with a 21-man roster, meaning they’d have to carry 20 players to be cap compliant without making another trade.

They still have restricted-free agent Philip Broberg left to sign as well, meaning they could look to move one of their defenceman to not only make room on the roster, but also in their salary structure.

The best options for the Oilers to move right now are either veteran Cody Ceci, who has one year left at $3.25M, or former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Brett Kulak, who still has two years left on his deal worth 2.75M per annum.

Although it could be tempting for the Montreal Canadiens to want to bring back a familair face in Kulak, they are already overloaded with left-shot defencemen. But, taking on a player like Ceci along with a prospect or top draft in 2026 could be a worthwhile venture as the Canadiens will be looking to convert draft capital into progress as soon as next summer.

The Montreal Canadiens would be able to add some depth on the right side of their defence and give young prospects David Reinbacher or Logan Mailloux more time to ripen in the AHL. Then, come the NHL Trade Deadline, a player like Ceci could be traded again as a rental for additional assets, making it a win-win.

Edmonton tried to unload Ceci at last year’s trade deadline, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they try to do it again before the start of the 2024-2025 season.

Getting Real Tight Real Quick

The Nashville Predators went from having a boatload of cap space to only having $596,000 set for the upcoming season, but there’s a catch.

They have 596K in ca space with a 20-man roster, which, for a team that is looking to contend for a Stanley Cup next season, is simply not a sustainable fiscal situation.

At 20 men, the Predators wouldn’t have the right to carry any spare players on their roster and would be forced to pray for long-term injuries and the use of Long-Term Injury Reserve just to call up a player.

A lot of the Predators’ woes come from their dead cap space, as they’re currently projected to spend $11.8M on player retentions (Mattias Ekholm/Ryan Johansen) and buyouts (Matt Duchene/Kyle Turris).

Combine that with a wild free agency period, which saw them bring in top players like Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, and the Predators are in a bit of a bind.

Dumping a forward like Cody Glass, a 25-year-old on the final year of his $2.5M  contract, or a defenceman like Dante Fabbro, a 26-year-old right-shot D also on the last year of his $2.5M contract, could be  prime targets for the Canadiens.

Not only does each play a prime position at centre and on defence, but they can easily be flipped again down the line if the Canadiens are outside of the playoff picture.

Alleviating themselves of $2.5M on the books would give the Predators enough room to sign their remaining restricted free agents, like Philip Tomasino, and leave enough money for other youngsters to join the team; allowing them to field a 23-man roster at the start of the season.