On July 1, 2024, 185 NHL players were promised 1.2 billion dollars. The salary cap has increased and is expected to rise again next season. While there are some good contracts, the majority of them are bad and long. Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan left Montreal, Steven Stamkos added $32 million to his personal kitty, and Joel Edmundson made Rob Blake and Marc Bergevin forget about his back problems.

And that’s just fine: Kent Hughe and Jeff Gorton stayed focused on their plan and didn’t succumb to temptation. Another GM won’t have to deliver us evil in a few years’ time, as Hughes is currently trying to do with the contracts of Price, Gallagher, Armia, Dvorak and Anderson…

The factremains that the Habs have made an important move: Jonhathan Kovacevic headed for New Jersey (in return for a fourth-round pick).

Why do I dare talk about an important move? Quite simply because Kent Hughes has cleared some space on the blue line, giving Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux a real chance to break into the line-up in September/October.

Draw it any way you want, there will be room for the youngsters who impress management and the coaching staff in September. Kovacevic would have stunted a youngster’s development if he’d stayed in Montreal… It’s worth noting that only two defensemen are currently over 23 with the Habs; we’ve turned the corner on rebuilding at the blue line. We’ve got an interesting (and sufficient) pool, and we’re starting the real competition internally. Cool! And the dollars paid to Karl Alzner and Joel Edmundson are finally a thing of the past. Next up for Kent Hughes is the attack. The corner has clearly not been turned.