Highest Value Canadiens: Salary Cap Hit Versus Production
Now that the Montreal Canadiens have transformed themselves into an offence-first organization, it’s the perfect time to evaluate how the skaters performed, weighed against their cap hits.
Of course, this is far from a perfect experiment, but with the 2026-27 season still a month away, we have ample time to analyze their results.
Some players shifted around the ice, such as Alex Newhook and Zachary Bolduc. Others missed significant time due to an injury or a contract dispute, including Alexandre Texier and Kirby Dach. And then there’s Patrik Laine, a player who was paid an exorbitant amount of money, but only appeared in a handful of games due to injuries and roster construction issues. In that vein, seeing as they moved on, Laine, Joe Veleno, and Brendan Gallagher will not be included in this article.
It’s also important to note that some players were not used in a situation conducive to scoring, and others were playing on their entry-level contracts.
Simply put, there is a bevy of factors to consider, beyond their value relative to their cost.
Nevertheless, the article will reveal which players offered the Montreal Canadiens the highest production value in 2025-26.
Centres
The first thing that stands out when evaluating Canadiens centres is that Suzuki somehow manages to provide great value despite carrying the highest cap hit among all pivots. He was the 31st highest-paid centre in the NHL, but managed to finish fifth in centre scoring. It would be rather easy to argue Suzuki is signed to one of the best-value deals in the league.
Oliver Kapanen also provided great value, with the driving force being tied to his entry-level contract.
As for the rest of the players, they did not provide fantastic production value, however, most of them dealt with injuries (Alex Newhook, Kirby Dach), or were assigned to a strictly defensive role (Phillip Danault, Jake Evans).
If Newhook had managed to play the entire season, there’s no doubt he’d be on the positive side of the production value chart.
Left Wing
Both Juraj Slafkovsky and Alexandre Texier provided positive production value to the Canadiens, relative to their cap hits. I’d argue Slafkovsky’s results were more impressive, as there was mounting pressure heading into the season, due to his $7.6M contract extension. Regardless, he managed to finish in the top 10 in scoring among all left-wingers.
As for Texier, he only played half the season, but due to his miniscule cap hit, he also provided solid value to the Habs.
Right Wing
A member of the first line once again provides great value to the Habs, a situation that will only improve as the NHL’s salary cap is set to rise significantly in the next few years.
Cole Caufield fell just outside the top 10 for salaries, but still finished in the top 3 when it came to right-wing production.
In fact, other than veteran Josh Anderson, every player on the right provided great value to the Canadiens. Both Bolduc and Demidov were paid very little on their entry-level deals, skewing the results slightly.
Defencemen
We hesitated to include defencemen in this list, as their primary function is not registering their names on the scoresheet. However, it’s impossible to ignore Lane Hutson’s impact relative to his cost. Again, we’re dealing with an entry-level contract, but very few NHL defencemen manage to be among the most prolific scorers just two years into the league.
It’s yet another sign that Hutson is truly a phenom in all aspects of his hockey career.
Montreal Canadiens salary cap information via Puck Pedia.
