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The Canadiens aren’t making the same mistakes as the Maple Leafs

Bondman

The Canadiens have made several decisions over the past few days. They chose to trade the 26th pick (with two other parlays) for the Kings’ 21st pick. In the end, they chose Michael Hage.
Kent Hughes also selected Ivan Demidov (a big win for the club), Aatos Koivu and seven other prospects.

The general manager traded Johnathan Kovacevic to the Devils. And shortly after, on July 1, he signed Alex Barré-Boulet… as well as Juraj Slafkovsky to an eight-year contract (2025-2033) worth $60.8 million.

Obviously, the Habs weren’t going to stop the club from signing big contracts that they would regret in a few years. The goal now is to let ugly veteran contracts expire, not add more to them. #Gallagher #Anderson #Price #Dvorak #Armia

That said, Slaf’s contract, while one of the NHL’s largest through July 1, 2024, remains tied to the Habs’ rebuild. And if all goes well, the longer it goes, the better it will be for him.

Signing Jonathan Marchessault, for example, would have had the opposite effect.

When you break it down, the Canadiens’ big forward contracts (Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky) are all deals that represent less than 10% of the club’s total payroll.

In 2021, Nick Suzuki took 9.66% of the Habs’ pay packet, and in 2022, when his contract began, it was 9.55%. In 2023, Cole Caufield took 9.52%.

And what about Slaf? If his contract started today, he would have 8.64% of the roster. And since his contract starts next year, when the ball is expected to be $92 million, he should be at 8.26% of the ball when the time comes.

It’s all well and good to crunch numbers, but let’s make a comparison to put things into perspective.

If we look at the Maple Leafs, we see that right now, four forwards take up between 12 and 16% of the roster. Each one. We are talking about core 4, as expected.

  • Auston Matthews: $13.25 million, 15.1% of weight
  • William Nylander: $11.5 million, 13.1% of the weight
  • John Tavares: $11 million, 12.5% ​​of the weight
  • Mitch Marner: $10.903 billion, 12.4% of the weight

Add Morgan Reilly (8.5% of payroll with a salary cap $7.5 million) and you have a big reason for the lack of depth in the Queen City organization.

I know the Maple Leafs are more productive than the Habs, but not to this extent.

Of course, you already knew these guys made a lot, but putting things into perspective always helps. And right now, Suzuki, the Habs’ top active earner, accounts for less than 9% of the payroll.

And with the salary cap rising, things are only going to get better. #MerciMarcBergevin

Kent Hughes has managed to stay within his pay scale by signing his first line to a long-term contract for less than $24 million. And this will allow the general manager to one day add the right pieces to his team… especially on defense. And that’s something the Maple Leafs can’t afford.

That’s why the club has made short-term decisions that will affect the club in the long term. Chris Tanev for SIX YEARS at $4.5 million? Oliver Ekman-Larsson for four years at $3.5 million? #Ark

The problem is that Toronto is so strapped that general manager Brad Treliving has no choice but to overpay for everyday defenders rather than go with a real one.
Let’s look at Utah HC. The club has a lot of money and has managed to cover its defensive needs with good short- and long-term defenders. John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev will really help the club, which also signed Sean Durzi to a four-year deal.

Don’t tell me that instead of trying to extend Mitch “Mr. Series” Marner’s contract, the club couldn’t have tried to reach an agreement to bring in top-level defensive reinforcements?

The Canadiens are putting themselves in a position where they won’t have to do what the Maple Leafs did in a few years when they’re on a winning streak. And if all goes well, getting past the first round won’t really be a problem.

Over time

– To be continued in Toronto.

– Vladimir Tarasenko has an offer on the table from the Penguins. He is said to want to stay in Sunrise.

– A name to watch in the Habs’ development camp.

– Tyler Toffoli’s wife is proud to be home.

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