Longtime Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is likely to be traded in the near future.

This shouldn’t come as a shock, as we’ve been evaluating the situation for well over a year. However, it’s normal for some fans to hesitate when it comes to the trade talk. Price represents the best of the Canadiens for an entire generation of fans, and holds a special place in the heart of those who watched him keep the Habs relevant at the Bell Centre on a nightly basis.

With that in mind, if we take emotion out of the equation, which isn’t always easy, it only makes sense to move Price’s contract now that there is only one year left on the books.

Let’s take a look at some of the variables that will impact a potential trade involving Carey Price.

What

The goal is to improve Montreal’s financial manoeuvrability, by unloading Carey Price’s contract, which is yet to be placed on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR).

Why

Montreal is currently over the 2025-26 salary cap of $95.5 million, by roughly $5 million dollars.

The Canadiens can immediately put Price’s contract on the LTIR and solve the issue, but that restricts their options, as LTIR funds do not accrue throughout the season, unlike cap space.

The ideal situation involves having access to the cap space throughout the year, rather than the additional funds provided by placing a player on the LTIR.

The LTIR following information is via Cap Wages

“If a player is seriously injured and expected to miss at least 10 games and 24 days, a team can place him on LTIR. This provides cap relief – essentially, the team is allowed to exceed the cap by the amount of the injured player’s cap hit in order to replace him. For example, if a team has a player with a $5M cap hit on LTIR, they can call up replacements or acquire players up to an additional $5M beyond the normal cap ceiling. However, LTIR comes with strings attached. Teams must already be at or near the cap to use LTIR (you don’t get the relief unless you need it), and using LTIR means you stop accruing daily cap space. Also, when the player is ready to return, the team must fit his cap hit back under the cap – this sometimes forces teams to make trades or send other players down. LTIR has been infamously used as a strategic loophole: because the salary cap does not apply during the playoffs, teams have occasionally kept players on LTIR for the rest of the regular season and activated them in the postseason when there’s no cap.”

When

The Montreal Canadiens paid out the final signing bonus of Price’s contract on Monday, to the tune of $5.5 million. Price also had a front-loaded contract, which means he carries a $10.5 million cap hit in 2025-26, but is only owed $2 million in actual money now that the bonus has been paid, making it a golden opportunity for a team attempting to reach the cap floor.

Montreal can trade him at any time, but teams tend to stagnate as they put the finishing touches on their opening rosters, which does add a little pressure to Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton. It’s difficult to convince a team to absorb a significant cap hit once preseason rosters start to hit the ice.

Where

As we previously discussed, there are a few teams with more than enough cap space to swing a deal including Price’s contract, including the San Jose Sharks. As it stands, they’re a few millions dollars below the cap floor of $70M.

ON TOPIC: Potential Canadiens Trade Partners To Move Price’s Contract

It’s a fluid situation, and there are other ways to quickly add a few million dollars to reach the cap floor. However, even if a team is not desperate to reach the cap floor, there’s still a possibility they may want to pick up the contract, to allow them to trade some of their active roster players for assets that may help them in their rebuild.

If no teams are interested, the Habs may have to sweeten the pot to entice an organization to absorb the deal.

Latest Carey Price Rumours

JC Lajoie suggested a trade is coming, and that it will likely involve a Western Conference team, especially if the Habs manage to put their hands on a No.2 centre, a situation that would lead them to trading a first-round pick.

Marco D’Amico pointed to the San Jose Sharks as one of the likely trade partners, which lines up perfectly with our analysis.

We will update the article if any additonal information becomes available.

Montreal Canadiens salary cap information via Cap Wages.