Arguably the Leafs' most heated rivals may be working to clear out $13M in cap space this summer, per a report
When Kent Hughes took over as Montreal Canadiens GM, it was abundantly clear that there was a lot of work to do. One of the first orders of business for Hughes was to see if he could get out from under some of the cap issues that Marc Bergevin left behind for him.
Hughes reportedly had a deal on the table at the trade deadline to move the contract of Shea Weber to the Arizona Coyotes, but pulled out of the deal. Why would the Yotes even consider this? Well, for starters, they'll need to get to the cap floor somehow. Weber has 4 years remaining on his contract with a $7.857M AAV, but why the deal might be an enticing one for Arizona is that Weber is owed just $6M in actual money - $3M this season and $1M for each of the next 3 seasons.
According to Mathias Brunet of La Presse, one of the reasons why the deal could not be reached before the trade deadline is that it may have gotten a tad more complicated, as another Habs player may be added. That player, per Brunet, is Jonathan Drouin.
"It seems that there is still hope that Shea Weber's contract will be transferred to the Arizona Coyotes. His salary will account for 7.8 million of the mass over the next four years and he still has 6 million to receive in salary, an average of 1.5 million per season. His contract makes him very attractive for a club aiming to reach the salary floor without spending too much. Don't be surprised to see Jonathan Drouin move to the Coyotes in such a deal. Far from being a bargain, but you'll have read it here first if it ever happens. Montreal would thus free up more than 13 million of its mass in anticipation of next year."
- Mathias Brunet on Weber to the Coyotes, possibly with Jonathan Drouin attached to him in the deal
- Mathias Brunet on Weber to the Coyotes, possibly with Jonathan Drouin attached to him in the deal
The Habs freeing up more than $13M against the cap would be way beyond significant and would allow them to make a major splash in free agency if they wish to accelerate their rebuild. Obviously, the offseason is not even in full bloom yet, so there are plenty of details that have not been released yet, but it is expected that we'll hear more about this the closer we get to the draft and free agency, which are now just over a month away.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
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