
By JD Lagrange – With the Stanley Cup finals over, seeing our own boy Artturi Lehkonen being a key contributor helping the Colorado Avalanche win, we can now fully move on to the off-season. June is coming to an end in just a few days and July promisses to be hot… in more than one way.
And it all starts with the first buyout window, which will remain open for the first 12 days of the month. With that in mind, here are the key dates for the month of July, which promises to be a very busy and, truthfully, franchise changing month for the Montreal Canadiens.
July 1 – 1st Buyout window opens
Will the Canadiens buy out one of its contracts? The most vulnerable might be Paul Byron. Here’s what the repercussion would be for the Canadiens if they chose to go that way.
SEASON | BASE SALARY | CAP HIT | SAVINGS | NEW CAP HIT |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022-23 | $2.8M | $3.4M | $1.87M | $1.53M |
2023-24 | $0 | $0 | -$933,334 | $933,334 |
The Canadiens might be better off trying to trade him instead. Even if they were to keep half his salary, it would add $1.7 million on the cap (under $200,000 more the first year), but they wouldn’t have the $933,334 on their cap in 2023-24.
July 7-8 – NHL Draft
The Canadiens have the first overall pick. Who will they select with it? Shane Wright? Juraj Slafkovsky? Or do they have something else up their sleeve? At the time of writing this, they also have 14 picks in this draft, 10 of which are in the first four rounds.
July 11 – Qualifying Offer deadline
The Canadiens currently have 10 players eligible for qualifying offers:
- Alexander Romanov
- Rem Pitlick
- Michael Pezzetta
- Kale Clague
- Samuel Montembeault
- Nathan Schnarr
- Joel Teasdale
- Josh Brook
- Corey Schueneman
- Cayden Primeau
July 12 – 1st Buyout window closes
That’s it for now, no more buyouts!
July 12 – Ability to offer player own player 8-years ends
The Canadiens are unlikely to make any 8-year contract offer this season, based on the current roster.
July 13 – Free agency opens
What will they do? Will Kent Hughes be able to free up enough cap to be a player on the free agency market? And if so, what will he be looking for?
July 17 – Player elected Arbitration deadline
Currently, the Canadiens have five restricted free agents who can file for arbitration:
- Michael Pezzetta
- Rem Pitlick
- Kale Clague
- Samuel Montembeault
- Corey Schunemann
July 27 – 1st day of Arbitration hearings
Off those five players, if a contract hasn’t been reached, Arbitrations will be starting. Note that players and their team can reach a contract agreement any time prior to their hearing.
So as you can see, July will be a busy month and, quite frankly, a pivotal month for the Canadiens. If Kent Hughes wants to take a few weeks off in August, he has a race to the finish line by the end of this upcoming month. Expect a somewhat different team when August arrives.
More reading…
- A Tale of Two Drafts by Bob Trask
- “More Than 10 Teams Consider Slafkovsky As Their 1st Pick” by JD Lagrange
- Kent Hughes Provides Insights On The Draft by JD Lagrange
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