With the arrival of the year 2025, the Montreal Canadiens are perfectly positioned to make a big impact on the free agent market this summer.
Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes is set to enter a defining summer equipped with all the resources necessary to transform his team.
The NHL salary cap is set to rise to $92.4 million, giving the Canadiens incredible flexibility.
Added to this are the early departures of Christian Dvorak, Joel Armia, Michael Pezzetta and David Savard, which will free up considerable sums.
It remains to be seen if Jake Evans will leave too.
This payroll cleaning could allow Hughes to act aggressively in the free agent market and in transactions.
Add to that an impressive bank of draft picks — two in the first round, two in the second and three in the third — and Montreal has rare ammunition to negotiate with its counterparts.
These strengths make Hughes one of the best-positioned leaders to energize his roster.
With $23 million potentially available under the salary cap, a growing youth team, and well-identified needs, Hughes has the cards in hand to transform the team.
This summer could be the one where the Canadiens go from a rebuilding team to a true NHL contender.
Two names come up repeatedly in the discussions: Mikko Rantanen and Sam Bennett. If one is an ambitious and expensive dream, the other is a strategic target that could solve the CH’s offensive depth problems.
The Canadian’s management will have free rein thanks to the expiration of several heavy contracts. With the early departures of Christian Dvorak ($4.45 million), Joel Armia ($3.4 million), Jake Evans ($1.7 million), Michael Pezzetta ($0.812 million) and David Savard ($3.5 million $), more than 13 million dollars will be added to an already existing space of around 10 million.
Additionally, the salary deductions of Jeff Petry ($2.343M) and Jake Allen ($1.925M) will also disappear from the books.
This represents a total wiggle room of around $23 million, not including the expected increase in the salary cap. With such a budget, the Canadian can dream big.
If the Canadian wants to strike hard and send a message to the entire NHL, Mikko Rantanen is the perfect target. The 29-year-old Colorado Avalanche right winger will become an unrestricted free agent this summer if no deal is reached with his current team.
With a current salary of $9.25 million per season, Rantanen is one of the most complete players in the league. But to convince him to sign in Montreal, Hughes will have to pull out all the stops.
Rantanen is a real offensive machine. Capable of scoring, creating opportunities and dominating physically, he is exactly what the Canadian is missing to take a new step in his reconstruction.
With Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Patrik Laine and Lane Hutson, he would fit perfectly into a young and promising core. (without forgetting Ivan Demidov who will arrive).
But that’s not all. Rantanen and Laine, two Finns, share a friendly relationship and natural compatibility on the ice. Bringing them together in Montreal could create formidable chemistry that would make opposing defenses shudder.
However, attracting Rantanen won’t be easy. Colorado, with its superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog, faces significant financial constraints.
If Rantanen demands a contract commensurate with his talent — around $13.5 to $14 million per year over the long term — the Avalanche may not be able to meet his expectations.
This is where Montreal can come into play with an aggressive offer, combined with a central role in the CH sporting project.
Here, Rantanen wouldn’t just be a piece of the puzzle; he would become the cornerstone of a team on the rise.
If Rantanen represents an ambitious dream, Sam Bennett is a strategic and accessible target. At 28 years old, the Florida Panthers center is a complete, robust and reliable player, capable of raising his level of play in critical moments.
With 13 goals and 26 points in 28 games this season, Bennett continues to prove that he is much more than a supporting player.
The Canadian sorely lacks depth at the center position, especially behind Nick Suzuki. Kirby Dach, expected as a solution, did not meet expectations, and the arrival of Bennett could immediately stabilize the second line.
Additionally, his intense and physical style of play fits perfectly with the demands of a rebuilding team looking to develop a strong identity.
According to rumors, discussions between Bennett and the Panthers are not moving forward. With players like Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell already signed long-term, Florida management might not have the resources to retain Bennett.
This opens a door for Montreal, which could offer Bennett a contract around 6 to 7 million per year, with a central role that he never had in Florida. (some talk of $8 million per year because of taxes).
The Canadian has several assets to attract elite-caliber free agents, especially with Martin St-Louis, a coach loved throughout the NHL.
Even local analysts agree that the Canadian is better positioned than ever to attract a star. On 98.5 FM, Dany Dubé declared:
“Rantanen or Bennett, these are players who can transform the face of an organization. Montreal must be aggressive this summer. With the space they have on their payroll, they have no excuse. »
Dubé also emphasizes that the presence of Patrik Laine could play a crucial role in the recruitment of Rantanen, while Bennett embodies exactly the type of player the CH needs to stabilize its lineup.
With unprecedented salary flexibility, an ambitious sporting project and clear needs to fill, the CH can hit hard on the free agent market.
Fans are dreaming of a star who will lead the team back to the top, and this summer could be the time when everything changes.
Fingers crossed.
