NHL fans on the internet reacted to the Montreal Canadiens collectively signing their young core players, including Juraj Slafkovsky, captain Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dash, Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield and Kaiden Guhle to contracts totaling $35.14 million in average annual value.
According to a post on X/Twitter, the six players’ combined average annual value stands at $5.86 million each. This collective contract value represents just 40% of the total salary cap.
This move by the Canadiens has sparked discussions and debates among hockey fans regarding the team’s investments in their young talents.
One fan said:
“That’s horrible, mid players”
“Sorry, but I just see a whole bunch of mid players signed to deals that will be awful by the time the young superstars actually make an impact,” another fan wrote.
Here are some of the other top reactions on X:
“Is there anything funnier than reading Leaf fans try to cook and grill the Habs for signing Ghule and Slaf etc ? like if all the fan bases to try and cook other teams over salary management,” one fan tweeted.
“THIS IS GONNA BE A PROBLEM FOR THE REST OF THE LEAGUE! THE SALARY CAP IS GONNA SKYROCKET AND THEYRE GONNA HAVE THEIR CORE LOCKED UP CHEAP AND MAKE BIG SPLASHES EVERY YEAR AT THE DEADLINE AND WIN 2 CUPS!!!!!!!,” another fan said.
“6 players have 40% of the cap the Leafs have 56% of their cap space tied up in their core 4 players Big difference,” another commented.
“Really not that exciting rn slaf will no doubt age like wine, nick deserves twice his pay. The other 4 might not go so well,” another fan chimed in.
Montreal Canadiens sign D-man Kaiden Guhle
Montreal on Wednesday announced the signing of defenseman Kaiden Guhle to a six-year, $33.3 million contract extension. The deal carries an average annual salary of $5.55 million.
Guhle was drafted No. 16 overall by the Canadiens in the 2020 NHL draft. He has been with the club for the last two seasons. In his 114 career games with the Habs, Guhle has racked up 40 points through 10 goals and 30 assists with a plus/minus of -27.
Also Read: 3 reasons why Canadeins extending Kaiden Guhle with massive deal might not work out
Last term, he notched up 22 points through six goals and 16 assists in 70 regular season games. Furthermore, he was second on the team for blocked shots (1.78), and third for average time on the ice (20:51).
Edited by Veer Badani
