Latest Canadiens Trade Rumour – Carey Price Situation

The Montreal Canadiens are attempting to trade Carey Price’s contract prior to the start of the season, but the logistics behind any potential deal have been rendered more complicated due to the recent changes to the CBA.

Several new rules will be put into place, effective immediately, including a restriction when it comes to ‘papering’ prospects. Teams would ‘paper’ prospects by sending them to the AHL, temporarily alleviating salary cap issues by giving the organization a little more financial manoeuvrability. The prospects wouldn’t actually report to the AHL, making it purely a paper transaction.

ON TOPIC: NHL/CBA Rule Change Impacts Canadiens, Potential Carey Price Trade

The new CBA rules have essentially put an end to the practice, as players will now have to play at least one game when assigned to the AHL. More accurately, it has slowed the process down, to the point that it is no longer a quick fix for cap problems.

This makes Montreal’s salary cap situation a little more complex, as they cannot simply send a few players to the Laval Rocket prior to the start of the season and quickly clear up cap space.

It also adds a wrinkle to the Carey Price situation, putting more pressure on Kent Hughes and Co. to get a deal done before the regular season begins, to ensure they have the funds necessary to improve the team should the opportunity arise throughout the year.

In short, the Habs lost a little leverage.

With that in mind, Renaud Lavoie is suggesting teams may request a second-round pick from the Canadiens to absorb Price’s contract.

Renaud Lavoie: Re Carey Price trade: “Serious discussions are likely to accelerate this week as NHL general managers meet in Detroit”; “I wouldn’t be surprised if teams demand a second-round pick from the Canadiens” – TVA (9/1) *translated

— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) September 2, 2025

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

The first thing we must note is that Lavoie is clearly speaking out loud. It was not a report regarding any sort of concrete trade negotiations. That being said, it’s easy to understand why some teams may want a decent draft asset to finalize a trade.

This doesn’t mean the Canadiens will pay the price, especially since Hughes has a long history of pulling off trades that are highly beneficial for the organization, both in the short and long term.

I’d also go as far as proposing a second-round pick is not an unreasonable price (!) to pay in this particular case, as it would be the team’s best bet to open up enough funds to have a legitimate opportunity to improve the roster and maintain an upward trajectory in their long-term rebuild plans. The Canadiens currently own two second-round picks in 2026, their own, and the pick they acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Patrik Laine deal.

As we mentioned when discussing the recent rule changes on Tuesday, if no teams are desperate to reach the cap floor, the Montreal Canadiens will have no choice but to sweeten the pot. However, even if a team does not need to reach the cap floor, they may want to absorb a contract to ensure they stay above the cap floor throughout the entirety of the season should they decide to move some of their roster players at the trade deadline.

For example, even if San Jose starts the season above the cap floor by putting one of their own players on LTIR, they may need to add more salary to the equation if they decide to trade a player like Tyler Toffoli or Alexander Wennberg for future assets, which is a common strategy for teams in the initial stages of a rebuild.