Habs Salary Cap Info and FAQ's

[dlbalr]

Montreal's 2023-24 Free Agents:

 

Restricted (Class II): Lias Andersson, Justin Barron, Mattias Norlinder, Arber Xhekaj, Jesse Ylonen

Unrestricted (Class III): Brady Keeper, Philippe Maillet, Tanner Pearson, Mitchell Stephens, Colin White, Chris Wideman
Unrestricted (Class VI): Arnaud Durandeau

Unrestricted (Class UFA): None yet.

 

Players will be removed from the list as they sign.

Relevant Links:
HW Contract Page
Waiver Situation

- Anyone making $375,000 + the minimum salary ($775,000 for 2024-25) will count in part against the cap upon a reduction to the minors. For example, a player making $1.2 million would count as $50,000 on the cap (1.2 M - [375k + 775k]).

Known no-trade clauses:

- Josh Anderson (8-team NTC until July 1, then a 5-team NTC)

- Christian Dvorak (8-team NTC)

- Brendan Gallagher (6-team NTC, NMC)

- Michael Matheson (8-team NTC)
- Carey Price (NMC)

 

If you have any questions, either PM me or reply to this thread. (As this is a thread for everyone, if there's something you'd like covered, please let me know.) More information will be added throughout the season and as it becomes available. The thread will be cleaned out periodically to try to keep all relevant information within 1 page.

[dlbalr]

50-Contract Situation for 2024-25:

Scorecard
Total committed contracts:  40
- Potential junior-bound slide rule players: 1
+ Restricted free agents: 5
= Revised total (max 50): 44

 

Legend: Black - under contract, Red - UFA, Blue - RFA, Purple - Needs to be signed for next season or rights lost. SR - Slide Rule, NQC - Non-Qualification Candidate

* - excluding players already signed overseas

Forwards:

Josh Anderson

Joel Armia

Owen Beck

Cole Caufield

Lucas Condotta
Kirby Dach

Jared Davidson

Christian Dvorak

Jake Evans

Sean Farrell

Brendan Gallagher

Brandon Gignac

Rafael Harvey-Pinard

Emil Heineman

Riley Kidney

Filip Mesar

Alex Newhook

Jacob Perreault

Michael Pezzetta

Joshua Roy

Xavier Simoneau

Juraj Slafkovsky

Nick Suzuki

Luke Tuch

Florian Xhekaj

Lias Andersson

Jesse Ylonen

Arnaud Durandeau

Philippe Maillet

Tanner Pearson

Mitchell Stephens

Colin White
 

Defence:

Adam Engstrom

Kaiden Guhle

Jordan Harris

Lane Hutson

Johnathan Kovacevic

Michael Matheson

Logan Mailloux

David Reinbacher (SR)

David Savard

Jayden Struble

William Trudeau

Justin Barron

Mattias Norlinder

Arber Xhekaj

Brady Keeper

Chris Wideman

 

^-Reinbacher's contract will slide if he plays in less than nine NHL games.  However, for his deal to not count against the limit of 50, he also has to be assigned to major junior or an international league.  If he plays in Laval, it will count against the 50.

 

Goalies:

Jakub Dobes

Samuel Montembeault

Carey Price

Cayden Primeau

[dlbalr]

What is UFA-VI?

Group 6 free agency is for players who are 25 or older, have played at least 3 pro seasons, aren't on their entry-level deal anymore, and have played less than 80 NHL games (28 GP) for goalies. Andre Benoit and Shawn Belle both qualified for this last season, Cedrick Desjardins (dealt by the Habs before the preseason) will as well.

[saskhab]

http://www.broadstreethockey.com/2011/9/27/2453124/jody-shelley-suspension-salary-cap

Finally, a real explaination on suspended players and the salary cap.

[JoeLassister]

I found this article but I really don't know where to post it. Kinda cool.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/06/29/graphic-hockey-havens-not-necessarily-tax-havens/

[dlbalr]

^{All must see a ton of 2012 draft picks being signed lately.}

^{Why are they being signed now, when i assume most dont need to before June 1st, 2014.}

^{Are there advantages to say, signing Galchenyuk today, vs next March when finishing up junior year?}

^{Habs normally wait to sign draft picks, is that a club policy or something?}

Generally speaking, this has become more commonplace in recent years. There's a cap advantage (albeit a minor one) to signing a prospect and then having them play in junior, referred to as a contract slide as I'm sure you've seen me mention before. Basically, the value of the signing bonus comes off the players' cap for each year they're signed, under 20, and not in the NHL.

Case in point is Brendan Gallagher. He had a cap hit of $900,000 with a max signing bonus ($90,000). Although he signed during the year, it was before the March 1st cutoff (I think that's the date) so he qualified for a slide. As a result, his cap hit is now $870,000 (the difference being the $90,000 bonus divided by the 3 years on the contract); his 'salary' (including bonuses) is 900/900/810.

Also, and this is speculation on my end, agents may be pushing the players to sign especially with talks of extended and only partially guaranteed ELC's (the 5 year proposal only has 2 guaranteed years plus 3 options).

This is from Habsworld website.

Care to explain the difference between "Limited, partial and modified" Brian ? (or anyone else)

Basically that's the terminology I was given when I got the info. Modified is the popular term now which suggests that it changes throughout the deal whereas limited/partial implies that that it's a fixed restriction that isn't a full one (ie: 5 teams the player can block a move to for the duration of the contract).

[dlbalr]

Brian I am confused. I thought ltir gave you the space to replace the guy you lost, so how is it adversely affecting our cap space?

You are correct in that it opens up a spot for a replacement by allowing the team to exceed the cap by the amount of the injured player(s). However, while the team is in LTIR, the cap space that they have saved so far is reduced at the same time (straight-line amortization); the difference is what the LTIR credit is. Here's the 2011-12 capsheet where this happened, it may be easier looking at a visual example (look at the LTIR tab if it doesn't take you there).

Any team that finishes the season while using LTIR has $0 in cap space; if you look at Capgeek, you'll note that any team currently in LTIR (all 10 of them) has a total of $0 in projected space. You cannot be under the cap and be in LTIR at the same time.

The reason I say it's ideal to avoid LTIR for as long as possible is simply to preserve as much banked cap space as possible. The Habs will need a lot of it at the end of the year to cover the bonuses while it'd also be nice to have some for any trades/recalls/other pickups. Inevitably, it may happen if someone else goes down; if so, the goal then will be to get back out of it as soon as possible.

I don't remember if you actually wrote one, but an article on the main Website about the Salary Cap / CBA would be GOLD !

I did a CBA one shortly after the lockout ended. http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=2968

[dlbalr]

Just one question about LTIR: if it turns out Briere is gone long term (let's say done until spring for whatever reason), would the Habs then put him on LTIR? I always thought that LTIR freed up the capspace of the injured player, but you said if you use it then you have $0 in capspace (but maybe that's just for the very end of the year).

They could (it'd depend on who else is on at that time and how much they plan to go over the cap - if it's just to call up Dumont or something like that, they may not need to). In its most simplistic terms, LTIR does free up the cap space of the injured player. In reality, it only frees up the cap space of the injured player less any cap savings to that point (that's why the 'banked total' gets amortized). Worth noting is that the injured player - in this case, Briere - will still count in full against the cap, it's just that the Habs would be allowed to spend over the cap during his absence.

A team that ends the year on LTIR will have $0 in cap space. A team that uses it but doesn't finish with it (the player comes back before the end of the year), cap space can start accruing again (since the team has to be under the cap before activating a player off LTIR).

For those who want to subject themselves to reading about LTIR, here's a place to start: http://www.capgeek.com/faq/how-does-long-term-injured-reserve-LTIR-work

Here's a question Brian, Markov is 34 now but on dec 20 he will be 35, so if we sign him or extend him prior to Dec 20 how does the over 35 rule apply?

It applies no matter what with Markov. The calculation is on June 30th of the season that the contract begins. In Markov's case, that will be June 30, 2014.

[dlbalr]

One thing I've been trying to figure out is the rules pertaining to AHL demotions prior to the Olympic break. A way to try to save some cap space (and get Bournival some playing time) would be to send him down during the break. From what I've gathered, that is not going to be possible...sort of. Here's a summary of the demotion rules that will soon come into play:

- Anyone that needs waivers would still need waivers to go down during the break (let's get the easy one out of the way)

- Waiver exempt players (Bournival and Gallagher) who have been on an NHL roster for 87 days or more prior to January 24th are entitled to an Olympic break if they are assigned any time after the 24th (5 PM EST) through to February 9th at 5 PM (one day after the Habs' final game). In other words, they are not eligible to play. However, they would collect their AHL pay instead of their NHL pay during this time. If they aren't assigned by the 9th at 5, they cannot be sent down for the duration of the break.

- If a waiver exempt player (let's just use Bournival since this wouldn't happen with Gallagher) with 87 NHL days gets sent down prior to the 24th at 5 PM EST, he is eligible to play in Hamilton...unless (yay, exceptions to the rule...) Bournival is to play 16 of the Habs' final 20 games before the break. We're 8 games into that stretch, he has played 7 of those.

- If Bournival gets sent down after 5 PM on the 24th and before the Habs' last game before the break , he is eligible to play for Hamilton in the time period between the date of demotion and the beginning of the break.

- If anyone with less than 87 NHL days gets recalled before Jan. 24th (Beaulieu), they can be sent down and be eligible to play during the Games as long as they're demoted before February 9th at 5 PM EST.

Long story short...

Bournival can be assigned to Hamilton during the Olympic break to save cap space up until February 9th at 5 PM EST. However, he will not be eligible to play for the Bulldogs during the Olympics unless sent before January 24th. The financial savings on the cap if they send him down for the break would be a bit over $57,000.

Original source: http://www.syracuse.com/crunch/index.ssf/2014/01/syracuse_crunch_and_other_ahl_teams_governed_by_specific_nhl_transaction_rules_d.html

Speaking of waivers, here is a chart for waiver eligibility. One small error is that the threshold for asterisked players is 10 games, not 11. Everything else looks good though.

[dlbalr]

What happens after the deadline in terms of the call ups on the expanded roster? How much does the expanded roster effect the cap, or does it?

After the deadline, there is no limit to a roster size, teams don't have to send players down when activating someone from IR. Instead of there being 23 on the active roster, there will probably be a couple more. That said, there is a limit of four non-emergency recalls that a team can use between the trade deadline and the completion of their farm teams' season. (So in Hamilton's case, the end of the regular season as I think playoffs are approaching pipe dream status despite them winning lately.)

As for the cap effects, the Habs have to stay under the cap at all times, that doesn't change from now. Post-deadline callups do count against the cap though (unless it's a postseason recall).

[dlbalr]

On 2/23/2015 at 9:37 AM, Jeff Price (no relation) said:

"While that seems all well and good, it doesn't take into account potential performance bonuses."

I don't understand this. I am under the impression performance bonuses for this year actually don't count against this year's cap - they count against NEXT year's cap. (This is why Boston was hamstrung THIS season by Iginla's excellent contract LAST season.)

Bonuses are supposed to count against the cap in the year in which they are hit. However, teams can exceed the salary cap by using the bonus cushion. This in turn allows them to count current year bonuses on next season's cap, as Boston chose to do with Iginla by structuring his contract so that it was largely bonus-based. That's more of an exception rather than the norm.

 

On 3/1/2015 at 3:02 PM, Peter Puck said:

Are there bonuses (boni?) associated with winning the Vezina and the Hart?

Yes, but they are league-wide bonuses, not contract-specific. As a result, they don't count against the cap like a typical performance bonus does.

 

On 5/1/2016 at 1:21 AM, Dalhabs said:

About pks hospital donation. Couldnt he have convinced Molson to make that donation in Subbans name and saved the team capspace?

No. Anything like that would be construed as cap circumvention.

 

On 10/2/2017 at 8:48 PM, nihilz said:

When do teams have to be under the cap?

 

They have to be in cap compliance by the season-opening roster deadline (so Tuesday afternoon).

 

On 1/26/2018 at 6:08 AM, John B said:

Last year the Penguins claimed Mike Condon on waivers from the Habs and then traded him to Ottawa when his services were no longer needed.  I was under the impression that you couldn't trade a player acquired on waivers unless he were to successfully pass through waivers again.  I don't remember the Penguins placing Condon on waivers prior to dealing him (I'm thinking if they would have, Ottawa would have just claimed him instead of giving up a pick).  I only ask because the Habs are in a similar situation with Niemi.  Could they deal Niemi if they wanted to (if someone would want him)?

 

Condon didn't go through waivers a second time because no one else had claimed him when Montreal waived him (Pittsburgh was at the back of the waiver priority list) so he was free to be dealt.  If anyone else claimed Niemi, the Habs would have to waive him and have him go unclaimed in order to deal him.  If not, then they should be able to trade him.  That said, does he really have much, if any, trade value?

 

On 6/28/2018 at 1:38 PM, John B said:

Question :  If the Penguins trade Kessel does Toronto still retain salary?  I was discussing this with a guy at work and we both wondered how this works.  I thought that Toronto still had to pay part of his salary, but my co-worker was thinking that Pittsburgh would be on the hook for it because the deal was between the Pens and the Leafs and not another team.  Thanks in advance.

 

Yes.  Toronto is on the hook for their retained salary if Kessel is dealt again.  A contract can be retained on twice, actually - that happened with the Habs getting Devan Dubnyk a few years ago (Edmonton retained 50% to Nashville, Nashville then retained 50% of the remainder of the contract to the Habs).

[dlbalr]

A little something to note from the Lindgren emergency recall from Saturday.  They were able to bring him up under this provision:

 

 

This can only be used twice during the season and for no more than 48 hours on each occasion. 

[dlbalr]

A random Sunday night note - Victor Mete reached $150,000 of his games played bonuses this season.  Unless there's a GP bonus in Jesperi Kotkaniemi's deal that I don't know about (I don't have the details on all of his bonus structure but the Class B bonuses are usually for higher-end production), I don't think he hit any as he came up short on all of his Class A bonuses though he could still get $212,500 for a spot on the All-Rookie team.

 

Mete's Bonus Breakdown
	20 NHL games	$25,000
	30 NHL games	$25,000
	40 NHL games	$25,000
	50 NHL games	$25,000
	60 NHL games	$25,000
	70 NHL games	$25,000
	80 NHL games	$32,500

[JoeLassister]

Some cool information I thought I could share.

Players and their respective agent.
 

• Jonathan Drouin 5,5 M$ 2023 (UFA) Allan Walsh
• Tomas Tatar 4,8 M$ 2021 (UFA) Ritchie Winter
• Andrew Shaw 3,9 M$ 2022 (UFA) Pat Brisson
• Brendan Gallagher 3,75 M$ 2021 (UFA) Gerry Johansson
• Paul Byron 3,4 M$ 2023 (UFA) J.P. Barry
• Max Domi 3,15 M$ 2020 (RFA) Pat Brisson
• Phillip Danault 3,083 M$ 2021 (UFA) Craig Oster
• Dale Weise 2,35 M$ 2020 (UFA) Allain Roy
• Matthew Peca 1,3 M$ 2020 (UFA) Jay Grossman
• Nicolas Deslauriers 950 000 $ 2020 (UFA) Philippe Lecavalier
• Jesperi Kotkaniemi 925 000 $ 2021 (RFA) Markus Lehto
• Ryan Poehling 925 000 $ 2021 (RFA) Dean Grillo
• Jake Evans 925 000 $ 2020 (RFA) Brian MacDonald
• Nick Suzuki 894 166 $ 2022 (RFA) Dave Gagner
• Lukas Vejdemo 792 500 $ 2020 (RFA) Kurt Overhardt
• Alexandre Alain 753 333 $ 2021 (RFA) Olivier Fortier
• Hayden Verbeek 753 333 $ 2021 (RFA) Jeff Jackson
• Joël Teasdale 753 333 $ 2022 (RFA) Don Meehan
• Michael Pezzetta 743 333 $ 2021 (RFA) Paul Capizzano
• Antoine Waked 726 667 $ 2020 (RFA) Chad Levitt

---

• Shea Weber 7,857 M$ 2026 (UFA) Jarret Bousquet
• Jeff Petry 5,5 M$ 2021 (UFA) Wade Arnott
• Karl Alzner 4,625 M$ 2022 (UFA) J.P. Barry
• David Sklenicka 925 000 $ 2020 (RFA) Allan Walsh
• Noah Juulsen 863 333 $ 2020 (RFA) Jason Taylor
• Josh Brook 809 166 $ 2022 (RFA) ?
• Cale Fleury 771 666 $ 2021 (RFA) ?
• Victor Mete 748 333 $ 2020 (RFA) Darren Ferris

---

• Carey Price 10,5 M$ 2026 (UFA) Gerry Johansson
• Cayden Primeau 880 833 $ 2022 (RFA) ?
• Charlie Lindgren 750 000 $ 2021 (UFA) Ben Hankinson
• Michael McNiven 682 222 $ 2020 (RFA) Stephan Seeger

---

UFA / RFA

• Jordie Benn 1,1 M$ UFA Richard Evans
• Christian Folin 650 000 $ UFA Daniel Plante
• Nate Thompson 1,65 M$ UFA Matt Keator
• Jordan Weal 1,75 M$ UFA J.P. Barry

---

• Joel Armia 1,85 M$ RFA Mika Rautakallio
• Daniel Audette 668 333 $ RFA ?
• Charles Hudon 650 000 $ RFA Allain Roy
• Artturi Lehkonen 839 166 $ RFA Mika Rautakallio
• Brett Lernout 653 333 $ RFA Craig Oster
• Brett Kulak 900 000 $ RFA Gerry Johansson
• Michael McCarron 874 125 $ RFA Wade Arnott
• Gustav Olofsson 725 000 $ RFA ?
• Xavier Ouellet 700 000 $ RFA Ian Pulver
• Mike Reilly 725 000 $ RFA Chris Lacombe
• Hunter Shinkaruk 650 000 $ RFA Lewis Gross

[dlbalr]

Below is the correct recapture potential for the Habs from the Shea Weber trade:

 

 

Any amount listed in the final column (Recapture Potential) would be the annual amount charged on Montreal's cap through 2025-26 if Weber was to retire early.  For example, if Weber retires following 2021-22, the Habs would be charged $214,285.71 per year through 2025-26.

 

And Nashville's, for those interested:

 

 

2021 Update: In the new CBA, cap recapture penalties are limited to the total of the player's AAV.  So in this case, Nashville would only be charged up to $7,857,143 on the cap each year.  However, the cumulative charge would carry over until the full amount is recaptured.  For example, if he retired with one year left on his deal, Nashville would have penalties of $7,857,143 for 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 and $999,999 for 2027-28.

 

On 2/12/2020 at 8:08 PM, JoeLassister said:

Am I right for understanding that should Weber retire early, he’ll count for 3,3,4,4,6,8,12 and TWENTY-FIVE MILLIONS on the Pred’s cap ?!?!?!?!?!

 

Not quite.  The amount depends on which year he retires.  While it won't happen, let's say he retires after this season.  Nashville would be charged $4.095M each year through 2025-26 (Montreal would be charged just under $762K per season).  If he retires after 2022-23, it's $8.19M per year through 2025-26 (nothing for the Habs by then).  And if he retired with one year left, they'd have the $24.57M charge.

[dlbalr]

A blast from the past in terms of player salaries:

 

 

[DON]

By Dom Luszczyszyn; the Athletic

 

13. Montreal Canadiens

Last year: 14th

 

On 11/9/2020 at 9:33 AM, tomh009 said:

The Anderson contract is on the high side, but I do expect that the D grade has a lot to do with last season, which was marred by his injury (Dom doesn't publish the actual formulas for his surplus value calculations). But it's hard to see how Gallagher, as much as I love him, would be worth $6M more per year than Anderson ($17.6M + $17.7M + salary difference). Assuming that Gallagher's salary is competitive, Anderson should be playing for the league minimum, then ...

 

Let's see what he can do in his first season in Montreal, the grade should improve from that.

This is explanation, if havent read already. Like you say, wait and see on Anderson and Edmundson as well. Will adding size and grit pay off?

 

  From Dom Luszczyszyn; the Athletic

 

... " Brendan Gallagher is the team’s best player and one of the game’s most underrated wingers. He essentially got the Chris Kreider deal, but he’s a lot more effective than Kreider, creating a much higher likelihood of positive value. I’m a big fan and that extension, coupled with one more year at $3.75 million makes Gallagher’s contract situation one of the league’s best. To add to the good, the Tyler Toffoli signing was great given the unusual circumstances surrounding free agency and the Jeff Petry extension was decent.

Now for the bad. 

Josh Anderson has the potential to be a very good player if he’s closer to the guy he was in 2018-19. The trade for Max Domi was fine, but a seven-year extension at $5.5 million is a really tough look. That’s an overpay even if Anderson bounces back to that level and there’s a chance he doesn’t. He hasn’t played a game for the Habs yet, but it’s already one of the weaker contracts in the league.

The Joel Edmundson pact isn’t too far behind, though it’s much shorter. Edmundson projects to be worse now than Karl Alzner was when he signed with Montreal and while Ben Chiarot worked fine in Year 1, much of that was by way of being carried by Shea Weber. Maybe Petry helps Edmundson the same way, but that’s not worth the price tag and the team already had a capable defender in Brett Kulak playing that role. Edmundson likely isn’t an upgrade."

[Commandant]

42 minutes ago, alfredoh2009 said:

 

You were bang on on this, and not Byron has cleared again.

 

Can Byron be sent up and down until he plays 10 games before requiring waivers again?

10 games or 30 days on the roster..  whichever comes first.

[dlbalr]

I had a few minutes this morning so I put together a quick piece on Montreal's bonus overage situation and how it could affect their deadline plans: https://www.habsworld.net/2021/04/montreals-bonus-situation/

 

On 4/4/2021 at 3:39 PM, alfredoh2009 said:

Can you elaborate on this:

"As a result, the Habs already appear to be heading towards a bonus overage penalty for next season which, with all of the players they need to re-sign and a flat salary cap, is hardly ideal. "

 

Does it mean that they can choose to pay a penalty next season if they are over? Or does it mean that they need to cut expenses this season no matter what?

 

It means they have to pay a bonus overage penalty if they wind up going over the cap due to the bonuses being reached.  They're allowed to go over that way (that's the bonus cushion) but if they do, their allowable spending next year is reduced by how much they go over this year.

 

[GHT120]

On 7/14/2021 at 7:37 PM, Habsfan said:

This might be a stupid question, and maybe somebody already asked it, but I'm gonna ask anyways.

 

If a player is offered performance bonuses, how do the bonuses get applied on the Cap?

 

Iet's say the Habs sign Perry to a 1 year extension at 1 million$ and also offer him a 200,000$ bonus if the Habs make the finals again. If the Habs make the finals, does that 200K bonus count against the cap?

 

I assume it does, it's just that we almost never hear of performance bonuses anymore (compared to the pre-cap era)

As I understand it:

Bonuses are only allowed on Entry Level Contracts, one-year 35+ contracts and one-year contracts for players returning form serious injury (see below for CBA specifics) ... once earned, all bonuses are applied to that season's cap ... if it puts the team over the cap then then the amount of the overage is applied against the following seasons cap (i.e., reducing it before the season starts) ... it is one reason that most teams leave a cushion in their cap spending to allow for performance bonuses ... Habs exceeded the cap this past season due to bonuses ... believe they are starting a few hundred thousand below the "league" cap as a result ...

BTW, signing bonuses are treated just like regular salary for cap purposes, but paid in a lump-sum at a prescribed date instead of throughout the season.

 

 

Performance Bonuses shall be allowable under this Agreement only for:
(i) Players with Entry Level SPCs under Article 9 of this Agreement;
(ii) Players aged 35 or older as of June 30 prior to the League Year in which the SPC is to be effective, who have signed a one-year SPC for that League Year; and
(iii) Players who are "400-plus game Players" for pension purposes, and who: (i) in the last year of their most recent SPC, spent 100 days or more on the Injured Reserve List; and (ii) have signed a one-year SPC for the current or upcoming League Year.

[dlbalr]

Rookies on entry-level deals are entitled to two types of bonuses - A and B.  A bonuses are for specific categories:

 

Forwards

(i) Ice time (aggregate and/or per Game). Player must be among top six (6) forwards on the Club (minimum 42 Regular Season Games played by Player and comparison group). (Note: an Entry Level SPC may contain bonuses for both aggregate and per Game ice time; however, the maximum aggregate amount the Player may receive on account of the ice time category is $212,500.)
(ii) Goals: 20 Goal Minimum
(iii) Assists: 35 Assist Minimum
(iv) Points: 60 Point Minimum
(v) Points Per Game: .73 Points Per Game Minimum (minimum 42 Regular Season Games played)
(vi) Plus-Minus Rating: Among top three (3) forwards on the Club (minimum 42 Regular Season Games played by Player and comparison group).
(vii) End-of-Season NHL All-Rookie Team
(viii) NHL All-Star Game (selected to play or plays)
(ix) NHL All-Star Game MVP

 

Defencemen

(i) Ice time (aggregate and/or per Game). Player must be among top four (4) defensemen on the Club (minimum 42 Regular Season Games played by Player and comparison group). (Note: an Entry Level SPC may contain bonuses for both aggregate and per Game ice time; however, the maximum aggregate amount the Player may receive on account of the ice time category is $212,500.)
(ii) Goals: 10 Goal Minimum
(iii) Assists: 25 Assist Minimum
(iv) Points: 40 Point Minimum
(v) Points Per Game: .49 Points Per Game Minimum (minimum 42 Regular Season Games played)
(vi) Plus-Minus Rating: Among top three (3) defensemen on the Club (minimum 42 Regular Season Games played by Player and comparison group).
(vii) Blocked Shots: Among top two (2) defensemen on the Club (minimum 42 Regular Season Games played by Player and comparison group).
(viii) End-of-Season NHL All-Rookie Team
(ix) NHL All-Star Game (selected to play or plays)
(x) NHL All-Star Game MVP

 

Goalies

(i) Minutes Played: 1,800 minutes minimum
(ii) GAA: GAA median GAA of all goaltenders who played 25 ormore Regular Season Games. (If there is an even number of these goaltenders, the median will be the average of the two middle values.) (25 Game minimum, 30 minute minimum*)
(iii) Save %: Save % median save % of all goaltenders who played 25 or more Regular Season Games. (If there is an even number of these goaltenders, the median will be the average of the two middle values.) (25 Game minimum, 30 minute minimum*)
(iv) Wins: 20 (Player must be goaltender of record, 30 minute minimum*)
(v) Shutouts: Shutouts median number of shutouts of all goaltenders who played 25 or more Regular Season Games. (If there is an even number of these goaltenders, the median will be the average of the two middle values.) (30 minute minimum*)
(vi) End-of-Season NHL All-Rookie Team
(vii) NHL All-Star Game (selected to play or plays)
(viii) NHL All-Star Game MVP

 

Generally, first-round picks get some of these Class A bonuses but some outside the first round get them as well.  For example, Romanov has three of them in his contract, Suzuki has a couple as well.

 

Class B bonuses are often for league-wide scoring categories (ie, top-10 in goals).  They're worth up to a maximum of $2 million per season and are not disclosed.  Voting for league trophies amounts are automatic in all entry-level contracts and are not included in individual bonus packages.

 

For veterans, they can't receive Class A or B bonuses but can get some for games played, goals/points, or playoff success.  Jaroslav Halak's current deal has the first two while Mike Smith's deal last season had several levels of GP bonuses plus playoff success ones.  Montreal doesn't have anyone currently on one of those contracts.

[GHT120]

3 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

@dlbalr , if the Habs trade a big contract, Like Petry's or Galagher's and retain 50%. Can Weber's LTIR salary relief help keep the Habs under the cap if they go over?

Are retained salaries accounted for like regular salaries?

 

Whatever you retain stays on the cap, for the full term remaining on the contract ... Weber's contract would provide the same possibility of LTIR relief that it would for any other contract ... but also all carry the same LTIR negatives (lack of roster flexibility, no cap space accrual, bonus carryovers to 23/24, etc.) ... think the idea would be to move Weber and only spend at most the cap space moved out on roster players ... ideally I think HuGo would want to be well under the cap ceiling so they have freedom to make some moves in-season (to improve team or get assets for taking on a bad expiring contract/being the "third team" in a deal) or carry-over cap space in 2023 off-season

[tomh009]

48 minutes ago, GHT120 said:

Thanks ... it discusses HuGo wanting to clear a couple of million to be able to remove Price from the offseason LTIR ... but the piece doesn't explain why getting out of offseason LTIR  status would have an advantage for the regular season ... or the fundamental question of whether the Habs want to be as close as possible to $93M in total AAVs (i.e., $82.5 ceiling plus Price's $10.5 on LTIR) to start the season.

Yes, you want to be as close to the $82.5M cap as possible when placing the first player on LTIR as that will set the ACSL (accruable cap space limit) -- during the season.

 

However, if you are putting a player on LTIR during the training camp, it's a different calculation. Now ACSL is calculated as actual cap hit less the salary of the player being placed on LTIR. So, if it's Byron being placed on LTIR first, you'd ideally want to be as close to (but below) $85.9M ($82.5M cap plus $3.4M Byron) as possible.

 

I have no idea why the traing camp calculation is completely different, though.

[dlbalr]

Some housekeeping notes:

 

- The thread has been cleaned out with some of the stuff from previous years being removed to try to keep things relatively clean in terms of this being more of a general info thread.

- The first two posts have been updated for free agency and the 2024-25 50-contract situation.

- I've updated the contracts page on the main site for 2024-25 and put the new contracts from the contract slides in.

- I will have an article on the contract slides detailing what changed sometime this month.  (It's written, I just don't know when it's being posted yet.)