With Price LTIRetired, and Habs essentially getting $10.5mil freed up, there's no pressure to make moves to alleviate cap space. Hughes can afford to be as patient as he likes on basically any potential deal for any of his players.
From all reports, Byron will also be starting the season on LTIR, and Drouin and/or Monahan might not be able to start the season still recovering from injuries. if any of them come back, there's still plenty of space to fit every one of them.
Monahan comes back? Easy, move Dach to RW (his Face offs % isn't great anyways), and scratch Armia or whoever is playing bad.
Drouin comes back? Scratch Pitlick or whoever is playing bad.
Byron comes back? same thing as the other 2, scratch whoever is playing bad, Armia or Pitlick. Not to metion there's zero pressure to keep Slafkovsky with the Habs if he's not ready. thus freeing up another spot on the wing.
Guys like Pezzetta (waivers), and Harris/Guhle (waiver exempt and whoever isn't in the lineup) can be sent to Laval to free up roster spots.
For goaltending keep all three of Primeau, Montembeault, and Allen. Since both Monty and Primeau now require waivers to go back to Laval. Ride Allen as the "#1", and rotate the other on the bench.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
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