The Montreal Canadiens are the youngest (and arguably most exciting) team in the NHL.
But after launching a full rebuild nearly five years ago, many of the Habs’ former prospects have grown into bona fide superstars. And superstars must be paid.
Montreal is carrying a projected cap hit of roughly $94.2 million against a league cap of $104 million, which leaves the team about $9.8 million in space. Here’s where the biggest chunks of that are going.
For context, these are annual cap hits, which is how contracts are usually compared around the league. Actual salary paid in a given season can be higher or lower depending on how a deal is structured.
1. Noah Dobson, defence
Cap hit: $9.5 million
Dobson remains the highest-paid player on the roster, on the eight-year, $76-million deal he signed after arriving from the Islanders. He’s locked in through the 2032-33 season, which was the entire point of the contract.
2. Lane Hutson, defence
Cap hit: $8.85 million
The biggest change on this list. Hutson finished his entry-level deal and signed a long-term extension that runs through 2033-34, putting the 22-year-old just $650,000 behind Dobson and making the Habs’ top defensive pairing one of the most expensive in the league.
3. Nick Suzuki, centre
Cap hit: $7.875 million
The captain’s deal hasn’t moved. Suzuki, who netted 101 points last season and represented Canada at the Olympics, is signed through 2029-30 at a number that looked steep when he got it and now looks like one of the more reasonable contracts in the league.
4. Cole Caufield, left wing
Cap hit: $7.85 million
Caufield recently became the first Canadiens player to net 50 goals in a season since 1990. The 25-year-old’s contract sits $25,000 below Suzuki, close enough that the two are essentially tied. His deal runs through 2030-31.
5. Juraj Slafkovský, right wing
Cap hit: $7.6 million
Slafkovský rounds out Montreal’s top five, signed through 2032-33. At 22, he and Hutson are the two youngest players on this list, and both are under contract into the 2030s.
Who fell off the list?
Patrik Laine’s $8.7-million cap hit would have placed him second on this list. Instead it expired at the end of last season, and Laine is still unsigned as of late July, looking for other opportunities on the free-agent market. He played five games for Montreal in 2025-26.
Carey Price’s $10.5 million, the largest single cap hit on the roster for years, is also gone.
The Habs aren’t completely clean, though. They’re still carrying $3.25 million in retained salary from the Brendan Gallagher trade, plus a $1.93-million bonus overage charge, as per PuckPedia.
Just outside the top five
Mike Matheson comes in sixth at $6 million on his new deal, followed by Kaiden Guhle at $5.55 million. Josh Anderson and Phillip Danault are tied at $5.5 million each, and Kirby Dach re-signed in mid-July on a one-year deal worth $3.6 million.
One name to watch is Ivan Demidov, who counts for just $940,833 this season. His extension kicks in for 2027-28 at $9.15 million, which would put him at the top of this list a year from now.