NHL News: Canadiens GM Kent Hughes makes something clear to Patrik Laine, Habs amid Carey Price saga

Patrik Laine and the Montreal Canadiens find themselves in the NHL spotlight as rumors around Carey Price’s contract continue to surface. On that note, general manager Kent Hughes dropped a blunt confession on the organization’s stance.

It’s one of the hottest topics in the NHL at the moment. The Canadiens need to fall back under the salary cap limit, and moving Price’s $10.5 million deal would get that done expeditiously. However, the Habs would have to make it worthwhile for any club interested in taking on that dead cap space for a virtually retired goaltender. As big of a personality as Price is, it’s not like his arrival would result in a surge of jersey sales or ticket revenue, either.

On that note, GM Kent Hughes dropped a revealing admission on where the front office stands amid the speculation surrounding Price. At some point, it could become a distraction for Laine and company. Thus, the general manager decided to nip it in the bud before the 2025-26 NHL season gets underway.

“We’re fine, we don’t have to trade Carey Price,” Hughes said in dialogue with Sportsnet. “If we can find a trade to move his contract that makes sense for us and makes sense for another team, we’ll pursue it. But we don’t have to.”

Kent Hughes during the 2024 NHL Draft

Exploring their options

Price hasn’t played since the 2021-22 campaign, so the Habs have more than enough experience in handling his contract. So far, Montreal has done just fine by placing the goaltender on long-term injured reserve (LTIR).

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“I wouldn’t ever just expect anything to happen, because things don’t always happen when you want them to,” Hughes commented. “But we’ll continue to explore ways to create cap flexibility.”

However, there’s a catch. The NHL is undergoing a series of changes with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and the Canadiens have seen their options narrow down because of it.

No more paper moves

“Under the new rules of the collective agreement, a player sent to the American Hockey League (AHL) must play at least one game before being recalled. Paper moves aren’t allowed like they used to be,” as reported by dose.ca.

As a result, Hughes and the Habs can’t risk moving a young player, like Lane Hutson, Ivan Demidov, or Zachary Bolduc, to the minors before calling them back up before the opening game of the NHL season.

Now, the Habs are essentially down to two options: moving Price’s contract altogether or placing him on LTIR once again and endure the financial restrictions and penalties imposed by the league’s commissioner.