The 2021-22 NHL season was disastrous, to say the least, for the Canadians.
After a Cinderella run to last year’s Stanley Cup Final, the Habs saw their season go downhill before it even started. The team lost Shea Weber, Phillip Danault and Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the offseason, and Carey Price sat out most of the season with a knee injury.
It turns out those players make a huge difference and not having them, well, it hurts. A lot.
Montreal began the season losing five in a row; that was a sign of things to come. It took the team until February to reach 10 wins. He eventually finished last in the league with a 22-49-11 Registration.
The organization turned a page during the season, bringing new blood to the front office and coaching staff. General manager Marc Bergevin and coach Dominique Ducharme were replaced by Kent Hughes and Martin St. Louis, respectively. After a sell-off at the trade deadline that attracted preliminary capital and prospects, the Canadians head into this summer looking to build for the future.
Here’s a look at where the Canadiens are heading into the offseason.
All salaries are Spotrac.
Canadians’ next free agents
The Canadiens don’t have many notable players in need of new contracts this offseason. Hughes traded pending UFAs Ben Chiarot, Brett Kulak and Tyler Toffoli and RFA Arturri Lehkonen at the draft and prospect deadline.
Only four players are UFA, while eight are RFA. Montreal could let the four UFA go and it wouldn’t hurt the roster.
Among the RFAs, there is likely to be no drama involved like the Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet situation last year. Alexander Romanov, Michael Pezzetta and Cayden Primeau are the most crucial to sign.
Nick Suzuki was going to be the main focus this summer with his entry-level contract set to expire at the end of the season, but he signed an eight-year extension in October.
| Unrestricted free agents | Restricted free agents |
| Mathieu Perreault | Rem Pitlick |
| Tyler Pitlick | miguel pezzetta |
| chris wideman | Alexander Romanov |
| laurent dolphin | Kale Clague |
| corey schuenemann | |
| William Lagesson | |
| Cayden Primeau | |
| sam montembeaut |
Canadian future salaries, list
Montreal has a ton of long-term money invested in players. Suzuki got his extension before the ’21-22 season and Cole Caufield is next. He has one year left on his entry-level contract.
The big question is what will happen to Shea Weber’s contract. He still has three years left at just $7.9 million per year, but cash is only $6 million. It is likely that he played his last hockey game due to injuries. Hugs allegedly tried to move the contract at the 2022 deadline, but was unsuccessful. That’s a lot of money to be invested in a player who probably won’t play again.
| Player | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
| tortoiseshell price | $10.5 million | $10.5 million | $10.5 million |
| nick suzuki | $7,875 million | $7,875 million | $7,875 million |
| shea weber | $7,857 million | $7,857 million | $7,857 million |
| Brendan Gallagher | $6.5 million | $6.5 million | $6.5 million |
| jeff petry | $6.25 million | $6.25 million | $6.25 million |
| Jonathan Drouin | $5.5 million | UFA | – |
| jose anderson | $5.5 million | $5.5 million | |
| mike hoffman | $4.5 million | $4.5 million | UFA |
| Christian Dvorak | $4.45 million | $4.45 million | $4.45 million |
| David Saverd | $3.5 million | $3.5 million | $3.5 million |
| joel edmondson | $3.5 million | $3.5 million | UFA |
| joel armia | $3.4 million | $3.4 million | $3.4 million |
| Paul Byron | $3.4 million | $3.4 million | UFA |
| jack allen | $2.875 million | UFA | – |
| jake evans | $1.7 million | $1.7 million | $1.7 million |
| justin barron | $925,000 | $925,000 | RFA |
| cole caufield | $880,833 | RFA | – |
| jordan harris | $842,500 | RFA | – |
| Carlos Alzner* | $833,333 | $833,333 | – |
| ryan poehling | $750,000 | RFA | – |
* = contract purchase
Canadians 2022 NHL Draft Picks
Montreal is packed with draft picks this year. He has 14 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft: two first-round picks, two seconds, three thirds, three fourths, one fifth, one sixth and two sevenths.
The team has all of its own picks and added four picks at the deadline: a first-round pick in the Toffoli trade, a second-round pick in the Kulak trade and a fourth-round pick in the Chiarot trade.
The most important thing is to keep his own first-round pick this year. The Canadiens have a great opportunity to get the first overall pick and draft Shane Wright. Montreal traded a conditional first-round pick in a deal to acquire Christian Dvorak from the Coyotes, but because Montreal’s pick is in the top 10, Arizona will get Carolina’s pick instead. Montreal received that pick as compensation for failing to match Kotkaniemi’s offer sheet.
This summer will be a great opportunity for Hughes to build the future of the team through the draft.
a burning question
Who will be the head coach of the Canadiens next season?
The Canadians have draft capital. They have Suzuki and Caufield to build. They have one of the deepest prospect pools in the league.
But who will lead the team? That’s the club’s biggest concern heading into the offseason.
St. Louis should be the one. The Canadiens seemed like a much better team after they brought him in as interim coach to replace Ducharme, and the results showed it. Montreal is 14-19-4 with St. Louis after going 8-30-7 with Ducharme in the 2021-22 season. Caufield and other players have shown immense improvement in production under the Hall of Fame.
But St. Louis left his wife and children in Connecticut to coach the Canadiens. His experience as a top-level coach before Montreal was at the youth level with his children. Hughes wants St. Louis to staybut is the time right for St. Louis to make “NHL head coach” his new career?
Reference-www.sportingnews.com