Monthly Archives: September 2025
Canadiens: Big Rumor Surrounding Carey Price’s Contract
Fans have been hoping to see Montreal Canadiens’ general manager Kent Hughes make another move this offseason, especially since he confirmed there is a possibility that Kirby Dach won’t be ready to start the new season. The Habs will have prized prospect Ivan Demidov playing his rookie season this year, and they are eager to give him the tools to succeed.
On Monday, Carey Price’s final signing bonus was paid off, and the shackles preventing the GM from trading his contract came off. Why do the Canadiens need to move his contract? Well, because as things stand, the Habs are nearly six million over the salary cap. In the previous year, they could become cap compliant by sending young players to the Laval Rocket before placing Price on LTIR at the start of the season and recalling the players then, but this year, they cannot do that. Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, Zack Bolduc, and Lane Hutson are the only waiver-exempt players on the roster, so it just wouldn’t work.
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According to RG.org’s Marco D’Amico, Price’s contract is likely to be heading to the San Jose Sharks this week. The California outfit is just $5 million over the salary cap floor, and it therefore has plenty of cap room for Price’s $ 10.5 million cap hit. Should the Sharks decide to trade some of their highest-paid players, they wouldn’t find under the cap floor if they had Price on the roster.
Who could be coming the other way? Well, in short, nobody. The Sharks would be doing the Canadiens a favor by taking the gigantesque contract off their hands, and the Habs are likely to need to pay for the privilege. How much? Well, a first-round pick isn’t out of the question; that’s what the Calgary Flames had to give to Montreal when they took Sean Monahan’s contract off their books.
On his X account, TVA Sports’ Jean-Charles Lajoie shares the same view as D’Amico, stating that Price’s contract will be moving, and he adds that the Canadiens are also working on a deal for a second-line center. D’Amico’s sources tell him that fans may need to be patient for the second part of that statement to come true.
Still, according to D’Amico, the presence of Gavin McKenna at the next draft could mean that struggling teams are ready to raise the white flag earlier this season to increase their chances of drafting the generational talent that is the left winger.
An aging team like the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is looking to rebuild, may be eager to pull the plug, especially if it can convince some of its stars to consider moving, such as Evgeny Malkin or Sidney Crosby. Both are talented centers, and despite their age, they could generate considerable interest and provide the Pens with a significant return. Speaking to the media during last year’s playoffs, Canadiens rookie Demidov said he was a Malkin fan growing up, but the Russian pivot has a long list of injuries and rarely plays a full 82-game season.
The Nashville Predators, who struggled mightily last season, could also be tempted to call it early. After all, Barry Trotz, who had invested heavily last offseason, threatened his roster with a rebuild if they couldn’t get things going, and they didn’t. Ryan O’Reilly’s experience could come in handy for many teams. Still, he would be a very temporary fix since he’s already 34, just like another good option Erik Haula.
If Mason MacTavish still refuses to sign with the Anaheim Ducks when the season starts, could GM Pat Verbeek entertain the thought of moving him? It’s not outside the realm of possibilities, but it would be surprising to see him give up on the promising young center.
Canadiens: About A Potential Mason McTavish TradeAs the offseason progresses, fans are growing increasingly anxious about the future of the second-line center position with the Montreal Canadiens. While the situation isn’t exciting, the most likely outcome at this stage is for Kirby Dach to receive another opportunity in the role.
While none of those possibilities have come to fruition yet, Hughes must create the kind of space that would allow him to take advantage of those situations. The best and easiest way to do that is to move Price’s contract. Fear not, though, at the end of the season, when the goaltender’s contract finally expires, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Price sign a one-day contract with the Habs, so that he can retire as a Canadiens and he won’t have worn any other uniform in his storied career.
If one of the stories this summer has been about the possibility of moving his contract, next offseason, once he has officially retired, the conversation might be about whether his number 31 should be retired and whether he will enter the Hockey Hall of Fame on his second year of eligibility.
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'Bit Of An Awkward One': Former Maple Leafs Forward Mitch Marner Reveals Why He Blocked Move To Hurricanes At Trade Deadline
Vegas Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner opened up about his decision to block a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Carolina Hurricanes at last season’s NHL trade deadline.
Towards the deadline, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving approached Marner about a trade to the Hurricanes in exchange for Mikko Rantanen, who, at the time, had just been traded to Carolina by the Colorado Avalanche.
Marner, however, declined the move (which was his right) and remained with Toronto for the rest of his contract. Following the Maple Leafs’ elimination by the Florida Panthers in the playoffs, Marner and his family convened to discuss his future.
Ultimately, the 28-year-old wanted a fresh start and opted for a sign-and-trade with the Golden Knights. Marner signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with Toronto before being shipped to Vegas in exchange for Nicolas Roy.
Amidst Team Canada’s Olympic orientation camp in Calgary, Alberta, last week, the forward spoke with NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest about why he blocked a trade to the Hurricanes at the trade deadline.
“The last two years there were a lot of rumors going on, a lot of different stuff swirling around. You didn’t know what was going to happen,” Marner said. “Then the whole Carolina thing comes up in the middle of the season. It’s a bit of an awkward one. My wife was six or seven months pregnant, we really didn’t want to be a deadline player.
“I would have had to leave and go back to Toronto because my wife wasn’t coming down with me, so I was moving into Carolina myself if I did that. The logistics of it and everything, it just didn’t make sense and then from that point on, we told [the Maple Leafs] we were committed to [Toronto] and we were going to play it all out.”
This was Marner’s second major interview at Canada’s Olympic camp. The forward also spoke with TSN’s Mark Masters and revealed that his address was leaked after the Panthers eliminated Toronto from the playoffs in May.
“We play Game 7 as we do in a non-enjoyable way of all time, probably. You get home, you're pretty disappointed, you're pretty devastated. The thought also that it was my last Maple Leaf game at home,” Marner said.
“And then I get a phone call probably about five or so minutes after from, I think it was my wife's father and goes, ‘I just want to let you know we've got people sending us screenshots of a guy posting your address online saying that if people want to come pay us a visit and say their goodbyes (in quotations), here’s the address.’ It was a little tough.”
The Maple Leafs drafted Marner with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Since then, the Markham, Ontario-born forward is fifth on the Maple Leafs’ franchise points list (221 goals and 741 points) and fifth all-time for playoff points with Toronto.
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Avalanche Legend Tyson Barrie Calls It A Career
The Colorado Avalanche have been blessed with talented stars among their ranks of athletes in the last thirty years: Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Milan Hejduk, just to name a few.
Tyson Barrie is among the names of recognizable talent who have called Colorado home during their career. On August 25th, 2025, Barrie made the decision to hang up the skates professionally.
After 822 NHL games, Tyson Barrie is calling it a career. 👏
— NHL (@NHL) August 25, 2025
Best of luck in retirement! pic.twitter.com/3lcarmiaZw
Drafted by Colorado 64th overall in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Barrie finished his NHL career with a total of 822 games played, tallying 508 points (110g/398a). 307 of those points, including 75 goals and 232 assists, were scored with the Avalanche.
In the 13 seasons he played in the NHL, eight of those were spent in Denver. The remaining seven were spent among the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, and, most recently, the Calgary Flames.
In 2019, Barrie was an instrumental piece in a trade with Toronto that brought Nazem Kadri to Colorado. He was sent with forward Alex Kerfoot to the Maple Leafs in return for Kadri and defensive prospect Calle Rosen. Kadri played a crucial role in Colorado's Stanley Cup run in 2022.
"It's probably a decision in tandem with the 32 National Hockey League teams," Barrie said on Hockey Today via SiriusXM NHL when asked why he made the decision when he did. "It felt pretty organic. There was probably a little bit of opportunity out there for me to go and take a [professional try out] and take another crack at it, but I kinda put my heart and soul into that last year and this season didn't go as I'd hoped in Calgary. So, it felt organic to roll over into the next chapter of my life. Like I said in my Instagram post, I'm just super grateful for the time I did get to spend in the league. The hockey family is a special thing, and to be a part of it for that long and I know it doesn't end when you retire, so I'm just super grateful for the life I got to lead thus far."
Tyson Barrie Retirement Post via Instagram.
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