Canadiens Long-Term Salary Cap Situation Including Hutson

Now that the Montreal Canadiens have signed phenom Lane Hutson to a team-friendly contract extension, it’s time to take a look at how the deal will impact the team’s ability to navigate the choppy waters of a salary-cap world.

Montreal Canadiens Moving Forward

The Canadiens’ salary-cap situation for the 2025-26 season is rather straightforward. With Carey Price’s contract off the board, the team will able to accrue important cap space throughout the season, rather than having to remain inert due to the limitations tied to long-term injured reserve (LTIR) funds.

As it stands, the Canadiens have roughly $5.5 million in cap space, which translates to over $25 million in cap space by the time the NHL Trade Deadline is set to take place on March 8. Of course, much can change between now and March, but it stands to reason general manager Kent Hughes will have the financial manoeuvrability necessary to add some talent at the deadline should the opportunity arise.

However, at the risk of putting the cart ahead of the horse, I’d like to jump ahead a little to take a look at how the Hutson deal will impact any potential trades or signings in the future.

The Canadiens have $76.1 million committed for the 2026-27 season, based on a projected $104 million salary cap.

In other words, they will have just under $28 million in available cap space to sign six or so players.

That may not sound like an impressive figure at first glance, but when you consider that Hutson, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kaiden Guhle, and Noah Dobson are all under contract until at least 2030, the team’s long-term outlook becomes so bright that it would not be surprising to hear that the Sunglass Hut is set to return to all the empty mall kiosks it left behind a decade ago.

Ivan Demidov will need a raise, as will a few other players, but the reasonably-priced foundation has already been laid by Hughes and Co. To make matters more interesting, the salary cap will continue to rise in the next few years, including a $113.5 million cap for the 2027-28 season.

With 16 players already locked in for 2026-27, not only is there remarkable consistency among young, core players, but there will also be further opportunities for the Canadiens to leverage their cap flexibility moving forward.

Montreal Canadiens Salary Cap Information Via Puck Pedia.