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Now that the Canadiens’ roster appears set for the coming season, is it too early to look at what things will look like the following season?
General manager Marc Bergevin got a head start on the future when he signed Brendan Gallagher to a six-year extension with an annual cap hit of US$6.5 million. It’s the richest contract the club has given to a forward although it should be noted that Scott Gomez had a US$7.357-million cap hit on a deal he originally signed with the New York Rangers.
The Gallagher deal is well-deserved, but it also leaves Bergevin with some difficult decisions. At this point, he’ll have about US$16 million in cap space for 2021-22, but he has to sign seven or eight players. He has four potential unrestricted free agents in Tomas Tatar, Phil Danault, Joel Armia and Jordan Weal, and three restricted free agents in Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen and Victor Mete. Their salaries for the coming season total more than US$15 million and some of them will be disappointed if they’re looking for raises.