He can’t even lift the scalpel until he knows what the future holds for Carey Price and, right now, he’s anything but clear on it. “Of course, it complicates things,” Hughes said when he was available to the media at the end of the season. “It would be better for us to have things in black and white, but that is not our situation right now.” That will not be the case for Canadians until Price goes through the process of determining exactly what his knee will allow – or not – to do. With no improvement in injury, he underwent surgery but did not recover enough to appear in more than five of 82 games last season, with the near-35-year-old goalkeeper saying the prospect of being a key player in the NHL again next season would be impossible. Yes, Price has four years left on a contract valued at $ 10.5 million a year in the salary cap, and he said on Saturday that he intends to do all he can to meet that obligation. But he prepared for his last game of the season on Friday, knowing it could be the last of his career. Price said it was an “A-plus” day, culminating in a 37-rebound performance in a 10-2 win over the Florida Panthers that would be a “great way” to get out if it got there. But he also said that he played due to discomfort, that his knee was “very” swollen during the match, that “there are different aspects of the goalkeeper that are required these days that are very difficult for me to do” and that he will pursue differently. views and looking at the possibility of more surgeries without any assurance that he will be able to return and play at the level he expects of himself. “I was always a fighter,” Price added. “I have always been vicious and I will not give up.” Whether Price’s body enables him to succeed is beyond his control, however, and the uncertainty he faces – none of which was resolved in last Wednesday’s meeting with surgeon Robert Marx in New York, according to with him- will have the final impact. about what Hughes can do to bring the Canadians out of the NHL basement. The general manager has no illusions about what this team will be able to do in the near future. He said he knew he would not claim a Stanley Cup next season, acknowledged that he had a difficult time navigating – with many senior players in long-term deals and very little maneuvering below the $ 81.5 million ceiling – and that stated it has no intention of trading futures contracts in short-term profit moves that will ultimately negatively affect long-term success. “We will evaluate all options,” Hughes said several times during his 33-minute press conference. But he ruled out one, saying he had no plans to move 29-year-old Brendan Gallagher, who has a $ 6.5 million-a-season contract for another five years. “Listen, Brendan did not have the best season,” Hughes said of the Canadiens deputy captain, who suffered an injury and was reduced to just seven goals and 24 points in 56 games. “He is not alone in this situation and we hope Brendan will return and have a good season next year,” Hughes added. Gallagher is sure he will do it. Both he and Paul Byron, who have one year left at $ 3.4 million, go into the summer with the same goal of building their body to a point they failed to reach in 2021-22. Byron, who underwent hip surgery last season and returned in the middle of the season before ending up on the sidelines again, described next summer as “a huge one” for his future and will be one, regardless of whether he stays at group or exchanged. For Gallagher, the coming months will be crucial in his ability to help the Canadians in the way he needs to justify his contract. Years he played on the sidelines and as hard and fearless as he has damaged his game and damaged his reputation last season. The brief reversal between the Stanley Cup 2021 Final and the September training camp did not allow him to properly heal from persistent groin and hip problems and he knows his performance did not match what was expected of him. “It was just a lot of things,” Gallagher said. “I was just playing catch up. Almost everything around the basin area where they worked. One day it would be one thing, the next day it would be the next, and you’re just trying to play catch up… It was just a short summer and I can only say that my body could not stand it. “I think the last two seasons have probably succeeded me.” Now he hopes that a long off-season will bring him forward. “I’m looking forward to rebuilding my body and getting back to the camp ready to be a player — I’m so proud to be consistent and to do that your body needs to feel good so you can carry it. “It’s night,” Gallagher said. “This is something I look forward to returning to.” He added that it was fair to question his ability to do so, but also said he had no doubt he would insist. Hughes clarified how he feels about Gallagher’s immediate future, but left unspoken his feelings for the future of some other players. He made no comment about Joel Armia, who scored just six goals and 14 points in 60 games after signing a four-year, $ 13.6 million deal last season. And he also said nothing about Jonathan Drouin – the 27-year-old striped winger who underwent wrist surgery in April and will not be able to start preparing for next season before mid-July. Drouin said Saturday that he wants to return and that he wants a chance to prove himself to Hughes and interim coach Martin St. Louis — which will be signed in the coming days or weeks (ideally for at least three years, GM said on Saturday). Armia was not available to speak after she went home to Finland to deal with a private matter weeks ago and did not return. Both players, and Byron, could move away from Hughes to create the flexibility the Canadians need to take care of their own free agents and possibly those from other teams. Would Hughes be willing to keep a salary in any of his deals to move them? “It will depend on what we get,” he said. “If we have short-term flexibility, what does it allow us to do? We discuss it somewhat abstractly instead of a specific example. At the end of the day, we have to see where we will go with this team, which players are willing to take on the responsibility. “So if we exchange someone and keep (money) and we have to get another player and we can save X dollars, what does it do to us?” This is a question that applies not only to what Hughes intends to do with Drouin, Armia and Byron, but certainly to what he will do with Jeff Petry. The 34-year-old defender had a brutal start to this season. His game bottomed out shortly after the holidays – after he stuck to COVID and broke up with his family, who decided to stay in the United States until the end of the regular season – and began to recover to their expected level just a few weeks into term of office of St. Louis. Petri had made a trade request before, and unless he changed his mind, Hughes would have preferred to explore that possibility – even if he confirmed on Saturday that he and his family loved Montreal and would be open to staying. Moving Petry is something GM expects to do in order to potentially release up to a maximum of $ 6.25 million for each of the next three seasons, but not at any cost. He does not want to trade what he called a “good player” for a return that hurts the team’s long-term plan. But Hughes certainly knows that it is very likely that he will have to keep some of Petri’s money in the Canadian cap to get something that interests him. As for what he does with the economies, Hughes has twice said he would look to replace Petry with a veteran defender who can help young blueliners Justin Barron, Jordan Harris and Kaiden Guhle grow in the best possible environment. He added that he had preliminary discussions with the agents of some of his players about expiring deals – Hughes did not mention unlimited free agents Tyler Pitlick and Chris Widman and free agents Tyler Pitlik and Alexander Romanov already doing what he’s doing, but it’s fantastic that it will cost to maintain all of them — and he said the team is younger to start next season. The flexibility to go deeper will depend on what Hughes does with Drouen, Armia, Byron, Petri and the soon-to-be former captain Shea Weber, who has been on a long-term injury reserve for last season and will likely continue to do so. is in it until the success of $ 7.85 million in 2026 ends. When Hughes was asked if he still intended to move Weber’s contract after he was close to terminating it before the March 21 trade deadline, he said, “Yes.” If successful, this will only provide some relief. No choice will be made if Price spends his meetings with doctors and injury recovery feeling he can continue his career in Montreal, where the goalkeeper has reiterated that he wants to stay. “I have been a Hab all my life and I feel that it is part of my identity and the future is so bright for that …
