Leaderboard

It's actually 5 RFA years left. Because of all the injuries in 2020-21, he didn't play enough games to accrue a season of service time towards UFA eligibility. As a result, he's not eligible for UFA status until after the 2026-27 campaign.

He has 4 years of RFA left.

The Habs dont want him claimed on waivers so they gave him 2 years and the one way. Teams on a budget that have a short term injury and wont want to put him in the AhL when their regular backup returns will be dissuaded from claiming him. Meanwhile the Habs take no cap hit if hes in the minors, just straight cash. This is using Montreal's financial muscle to buy a million dollar insurance policy on Price