The Athletics rate all the Habs contracts, and Marc Bergevin is to blame
To build a Stanley Cup-winning team, the general manager must make astute signings that become true bargains while also avoiding deals that hurt the organization.
This salary cap management has become a modern art form in constructing a championship-caliber team.
The team at The Athletic has rated each of Kent Hughes' signings. Using an internally developed model, they assessed the value of the players under Martin St-Louis' management. Journalists considered several factors, including statistics, the player's age, and other variables.
The Athletic evaluated the number of years remaining on their most recent deals and the current contracts. For instance, Juraj Slafkovsky is entering the third and final year of his entry-level contract. Thus, his contract duration is nine years, and the average annual salary is lower than his future 2025-2026 contract.
According to their calculations, the best contract belongs to Samuel Montembault, who earns $3.2 million per season for the next three campaigns, while his market value is estimated at nearly $8 million.
Next, Cole Caufield receives an A- rating, making him the second-best contract on the team among forwards and defensemen. Although his offensive production fell short of expectations in 2023-2024, Caufield is signed for seven seasons with an average annual salary of $7.875 million.
With one year less on his contract and the same salary, Nick Suzuki is considered a worse signing than Caufield according to the analyzed data. The B+ rating is still good, but we believe his value surpasses Caufield's. He is a much more complete forward than his line mate.
If this rating raises eyebrows, the B- grades for Juraj Slafkovsky and Mike Matheson are puzzling.
In the second half of the season, the towering Slovak player showed strength and dominance. He could approach 70 points in 2024-2025. An average annual salary under $7 million for a player of his caliber is a hard-to-beat bargain.
For Mike Matheson, he ranked among the top 10 point-scoring defensemen in the NHL in 2023-2024. The Canadiens' defenseman amassed over 60 points and earns $4.9 million per season, for two more campaigns. On the free agent market, a defenseman like Brandon Montour signed a seven-year deal worth over $7.1 million per year. Matheson's market value would have been around $7 to $7.5 million per season, while The Athletic values him at $6.4 million.
While we may disagree with some ratings, we have no choice but to agree with the D- grades for Josh Anderson's and Brendan Gallagher's contracts. These two contracts significantly hurt the organization for the next three years. With salaries of $5.5 million for Anderson and $6.5 million for Gallagher, the Canadiens' flexibility is considerably reduced. This complicates Kent Hughes' job!
Fortunately, Christian Dvorak's contract is nearing its end. These three contracts, given by Marc Bergevin, are extremely detrimental to the organization, as the length of the deals and the salaries paid do not reflect the players' value based on their 2023-2024 performances.
Fortunately, the contracts for Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook are relatively good. Thanks to Kent Hughes, the Canadiens will have better flexibility at the end of this season to add valuable pieces. If the Canadiens improve in the standings in 2024-2025 compared to the previous year, it will be in 2025-2026 that the Canadiens are expected to be playoff contenders. The window is still quite distant, but the core of young talent in Montreal makes the future look particularly bright!
| POLL | ||
Which contract is the worst for the Habs? | ||
| Gallagher (6,5 M$ during 3 years) | 179 | 54.9 % |
| Anderson (5,5 M$ during 3 years) | 80 | 24.5 % |
| Christian Dvorak (4,45 M$ for a year) | 60 | 18.4 % |
| Armia (3,4 M$ for a year) | 7 | 2.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
