Alex Newhook has just offered something tremendous to the Canadiens

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Julien Trekker
July 15, 2023 (2:09 PM)

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At the moment, Kent Hughes still has an enormous job to do in preparation for the upcoming season.

The team ranks among the top in the NHL in terms of salary cap, behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, but just ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Needless to say, it is a great anomaly to see a team like the Canadiens among teams that aspire to great honors.

Unfortunately for the Canadiens' GM, he has to deal with several undesirable contracts inherited from the previous management of the club, notably those of Mike Hoffman, Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, and Brendan Gallagher.

However, thanks to the very affordable contract just signed by Alex Newhook with the Canadiens, Hughes has just created a very interesting wiggle room for the summer of 2024.

If the salary cap remains the same and no other transactions occur, the team will have nearly $15 million in cap space to spend, with only Samuel Montembeault and perhaps Sean Monahan to re-sign. We can even add Carey Price's contract, which would go on the LTIR, increasing the available amount to over $25 million.

All this financial flexibility will become a huge advantage in the negotiation market, not only to add potential free agents but also to try to acquire a big player through a significant trade.

Furthermore, if Hughes were to perform a magic trick by offloading the contracts of Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia, the Canadiens could gain an additional $8 million.

We are on the verge of seeing the organization take a new breath in its reconstruction. In this regard, the excellent deals with Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook will greatly help the team in the long term.