Bonus paid, the Montreal Canadiens likely to deal Carey Price’s contract

TSN 690 host Conor McKenna explained that by paying Carey Price's signing bonus, the Montreal Canadiens will likely move on from the star goalie.

The extended saga of waving goodbye to Carey Price in a Habs sweater from a dock in Old Montreal may soon end.

TSN 690 Radio host Conor McKenna explained to CTV News that the Montreal Canadiens paid out Price’s $5.5 million signing bonus on Monday, which eliminates one of the hurdles to trading his contract to another NHL team looking to add money to their books.

“That’s that’s a significant part of this conversation,” he said. “That’s the reason why this is expected to happen now, is the bonus has been paid, so the team that acquires him gets to have that full $10.5 million cap hit without having to pay out anything resembling that amount.”

McKenna explained that NHL teams’ payrolls must fall below the cap ( $95.5 million) ceiling and above the floor ($70.6 million). Some teams, such as the San Jose Sharks (current payroll $75.76 million) or the Anaheim Ducks ($74.96 million), need to add salary to stay above that minimum.

“So the teams that would be looking to acquire this contract are teams that would be looking to sell off assets during the season, trade away players that might have value to other teams, but they’re really just thinking about getting the best draft pick possible, so they trade away those assets, but if they do that, they’re at risk of falling below the salary cap floor,” said McKenna.

The Habs’ roster currently costs $101.43 million ($5.9 million over the cap), so eliminating Price’s salary would go a great distance for the upcoming season.

Price has not played a game since April 29, 2022.

His last meaningful game was Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup finals, when the Tampa Bay Lightning skated away with the win to end the season.

He has been living alongside fellow former 2021 Hab Shea Weber in Kelowna, B.C., for over a year.

Carey’s wife, Angela Price, responded to a question on Instagram about the Habs potentially moving on and trading his contract.

“Probably the same way most of Montreal would feel... But ultimately, you want what’s best for the team,” she said, adding that she does not miss the NHL life “not even a little bit.”

“It feels very nice to not be in that bubble anymore,” she said.

No. 31 will likely be among the Canadiens’ retired numbers in the near future.

Even if he never won a Stanley Cup like fellow CH netminders Patrick Roy, Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden, Price is the Habs all-time wins (361) and games played (804) leader and took home the Hart and Vezina trophies in 2015, while leading the team for almost two decades.

“He’s, for a generation of fans, really kind of the best player they’ve ever seen play for them,” said McKenna. “Carey Price was a good enough player to win a Stanley Cup. The fact is that injuries would be the number one contributing factor to the fact that he wasn’t able to do that, and the other is the fact that, yeah, he played for a lot of teams that weren’t very good, teams that he had to carry on his back, and teams that he got further than they probably should have gotten because of how good he was...

“It feels strange to have such an anti-climactic ending to this story, but this is a guy who, as a member of the Canadiens, is the most recognizable member of the Canadiens, [and] becomes really part of the fabric of the city, in a way that transcends sports. Everybody knows who Carey Price is, whether you are a hockey fan, a Habs fan or not.”