If there is one thing to remember from this CH training camp, it is that it is too long that Lane Hutson is an NHL caliber guy. The defenseman played big hockey during camp, and he deserves to start the year in the Bettman circuit.
Seeing him form a pair with David Savard makes sense, we agree.
Unless there is a surprise, therefore, we expect to see him be part of the team next Wednesday… but that does not mean that he will never be transferred to Laval between now and then.
Because with Carey Price’s contract, the CH has to deal with the LTIR and paper transactions… and that’s where the defender comes into play.
In a text published this evening, PuckPedia talked a little about the Canadian’s case in connection with the LTIR…and according to them, Hutson is the most logical name for a paper move before the start of the season.
In such a scenario, Price and Patrik Laine would not be on the LTIR on day 1… but Rafaël Harvey-Pinard would be.
Basically, the site explains that the CH currently exceeds the salary cap by $2.02 million. Remember that in connection with the LTIRa team must try to get as close to the ceiling as possible (without exceeding it, obviously) to optimize its use.
Thus, in the case of the CH, place Price ($10.5 million) and Laine ($8.7 million) on the LTIR on day 1 is not logical. On the other hand, place RHP ($1.1 million) on the LTIR is much easier… and with a paper transaction the club could really maximize its usage.
By firing Hutson and his $950,000 salary downthe Canadian would be very close to the limit. That said, there is another scenario that isn’t crazy either: the one in which Arber Xhekaj is the one sent down.
There is a world in which the CH sends him down because he didn’t make the team, but for the sake of the exercise, let’s see it as a paper transaction.
At $1.3 million, Xhekaj earns more than his younger teammate, so the Canadian would move away from the cap. That said, recalling Hutson would imply that the CH adds $750,000 to its mass in connection with the performance bonuses of the kid.
In Xhekaj’s case, this $750,000 in the event of a recall does not exist given that he does not have any performance bonuses attached to his contract.
We will therefore see how the CH will navigate the next week in terms of paper transactions, but the names of Hutson and Xhekaj are the two who are particularly worth watching.
Hutson will almost certainly be in uniform for the first game of the season… but for a brief moment, he could (on paper) be traded to the Rocket.
In burst
– Good listening.
– The possibility of seeing Michael Hage play matches in Montreal at the end of the season is notably mentioned.
– Huge victory for CF Montreal.
Related News :