An amazing gift today for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens
Following this long journey of 82 games, which is now behind them, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton received some good news this morning.
The former general manager Marc Bergevin's worst decision is now a thing of the past, as the buyout of Karl Alzner's contract was finalized this morning.
Undoubtedly, it's a nice gift for the Gorton-Hughes duo considering the new salary cap reality in the NHL. A greater financial maneuvering room for the two men to continue their reconstruction and who knows, perhaps for new players this summer.
Marc Bergevin's buyout of Karl Alzner's contract: it ends today!
The buyout of defenseman Karl Alzner's contract frustrated the organization with $833,333 per year, ever since the buyout. This amount isn't astronomical and still remains quite marginal, but as Pierre Yves McSween would say, every dollar must be maximized.
Marc Bergevin signed him to a 5 year, $23.125 million deal in 2017.
Andrei Markov was not re-signed that summer & ended his NHL career at 990 games (all with the Habs)." - Via HabsOnReddit
Undoubtedly, Karl Alzner's signing was the worst signing of the Bergevin era. The contracts awarded to Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson don't seem so bad after all!
Karl Alzner hasn't played since 2020. The 35-year-old defenseman ultimately played 95 games for the Montreal Canadiens with a record of 13 points and a -7 differential, performances that poorly justify an annual salary of over $4.6 million.
| POLL | ||
Who would you buyout? | ||
| Brendan Gallagher | 69 | 20 % |
| Josh Anderson | 139 | 40.3 % |
| Both | 137 | 39.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
