The 2023-24 Montreal Canadiens roster is already taking shape, which is a testament to general manager Kent Hughes’ speedy work. He’s arguably already tackled all his priorities for the 2023 offseason and that includes signing several players, a few of which make an appearance on this list of the best (non-entry-level) Canadiens contracts for the season.
Related: Best Bang-for-Buck Canadiens Contracts for 2022-23
Maybe it’s even more of a testament to Hughes’ handiwork considering only two players make a repeat showing relative to last year’s list. The kicker is one of the two returns with a different contract altogether… a significantly better one in fact as they move up from No. 5 on last year’s list, opening the door for this year’s first new entry to take their old spot:
5. Rafael Harvey-Pinard ($1.1 million cap hit)
In all fairness, Rafael Harvey-Pinard would have had to have had a rookie season for the ages to cash in significantly on his second contract. With just 38 career NHL games to his name, the 24-year-old just didn’t have any negotiating leverage, settling for a two-year, $2.2 million deal despite putting together just an impressive rookie campaign instead.
Harvey-Pinard played 34 of his career games in 2022-23, scoring 14 goals (six assists) to finish ninth among rookies, despite everyone above him having played at least 67 games. Granted, he did play on the same line as Nick Suzuki, the Canadiens’ leading scorer for a large portion of his time in the NHL last season… and that’s the rub. There are no guarantees Harvey-Pinard so much as stays with the Habs. After all, he’s still waiver-exempt and they have a definite logjam up front in terms of forwards in line for roster spots.
Nevertheless, Harvey-Pinard’s undeniable scoring ability and versatility to play anywhere in the lineup should work in his favor… that and his one-way deal. It still has a low-enough cap hit to ironically pay off to a great extent for the Habs if he makes his way into the top six again. Even if he doesn’t, his rugged playing style lends itself to enabling him to contribute in other ways.
4. Nick Suzuki ($7.875 million)
Suzuki may be the Canadiens’ top-paid player with the highest cap hit (not destined for long-term injured reserve, anyway) at $7.875 million. However, his contract is still good considering he’s just 24 himself and actually younger than Harvey-Pinard by a few months.
So, even though Suzuki’s still under contract for seven more seasons, it’s fair to assume Hughes has got him at that cap hit for his prime. How much he ends up getting paid afterward is anyone’s guess, but, in a world where unrestricted free agents don’t just get paid but overpaid for what they’ve accomplished instead of what they will, Suzuki is getting paid what he deserves as the Canadiens’ projected perennial leading scorer.
3. Samuel Montembeault ($1 million)
At this point, goalie Samuel Montembeault is at a crossroads. Canadiens fans have seen two sides so far. He’s been a third-string goalie for most of his career, one who was thrown into the role of a No. 1 for all intents and purposes due to the Habs’ injury issues over the last few seasons.
Last season specifically though, he displayed potential to develop into something more, finishing among the league leaders in goals saved above expected. At the end of the day though, we’re still talking about a goalie who went 16-19-3, albeit on a bad team, with a mediocre .901 save percentage and downright-bad 3.42 goals-against average.
So, this upcoming season, ahead of which Montembeault has seemingly wrested the No. 1 job away from Jake Allen, will go a long way towards determining what the Canadiens actually have in him. Seeing as he’s also a pending UFA playing for his next contract, his current $1 million cap hit certainly has the potential to end up a huge bargain.
As a one-time waiver-wire pick-up, the goalie known as “Monty” would in such an instance be more aptly nicknamed “Found Money,” regardless of what he ends up getting paid next time. He’ll have earned it.
2. Mike Matheson ($4.875 million)
On the subject of found money, everyone had at least slightly high hopes for defenseman Mike Matheson when he came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Jeff Petry trade. Few if any realistically thought he’d put together the season he did in 2022-23, though.
Matheson did appear in only 48 games, but he nevertheless scored a career-high 34 points, establishing himself as the team’s top defenseman in the process. Considering the youth movement on defense, especially on Matheson’s left side, which indirectly led to the need to trade fellow-veteran Joel Edmundson, that’s saying a lot.
As a result of all the team’s defensive prospects, Matheson himself at one point had been the subject of trade rumors (from ‘Stu Cowan: Canadiens’ Matheson, teammates tune out social media noise,’ Montreal Gazette, March 7, 2023). He may still be in all honesty, but he shouldn’t considering the ever-present need for veteran leadership in some form, his still-young 29 years of age and his contract, which carries a very reasonable $4.875 million hit.
Matheson will continue to get his share of ice time on this young Canadiens team and is presumably set to lead the defense in scoring again. It’s no small feat, the degree to which he did last season when the next-highest-scoring defenseman was the defensive-oriented David Savard (20 points). All that to say, the Canadiens need Matheson. All teams need defensemen like him, especially at his cap hit. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
1. Sean Monahan ($1.985 million)
If you haven’t figured it out by now, forward Sean Monahan is the repeat entry from last season referenced at the top of the piece. He solidified his rank at the top of this list after re-signing for just $1.985 million, albeit for a single season. However, to a degree, that one-year term works in both parties’ favors here.
Sure, in principle, the Canadiens would have loved to have secured the valuable secondary scoring and leadership Monahan provided last season for multiple campaigns at the same affordable hit. However, that was always unlikely, considering Monahan is probably trying to prove himself worthy of a rich deal next summer, with whichever team.
You have to believe Monahan’s injury history, which led to the Canadiens taking on his contract for a first-round pick, worked against him here. The fact that he played just 25 games last season? It likely didn’t help his case, as he tested the UFA market for the first time in his career.
As an end result, he ended up back with the Canadiens on his current contract, which is at a huge discount relative to his previous $6.375 million cap hit. Again, it’s also for the one season, which should work out just fine, considering the Canadiens are loaded to the brim with young, capable centers ready to take his place in the lineup.
For the time being though, any team would be happy to have Monahan on his current deal, and that means other potential suitors. If the Canadiens should happen to falter in their undeniable quest to vie for a playoff spot in 2023-24 (which this re-signing clearly reinforces)? The Canadiens will at least be able to try to flip Monahan, potentially for another first-round pick. If that happens, his contract, which epitomizes the term “deal,” gets even better.
