Canadiens trade for Flames’ Monahan, conditional first-round pick
Montreal lands another big centre, but news that Carey Price is unlikely to play this coming season overshadows the move.
The Montreal Canadiens on Thursday acquired centre Sean Monahan and a conditional first-round pick in 2025 from the Calgary Flames in exchange for future considerations, but also revealed star goaltender Carey Price could miss the entire season due to a lingering knee injury.
The trade helped Calgary clear salary-cap space to sign free-agent centre Nazem Kadri to a seven-year, $49-million contract, but with Monahan having one year remaining on a seven-year contract with a cap hit of US$6.375 million, the Canadiens are now more than $6 million over the salary cap, according to CapFriendly.
In a news conference after the trade was made official, general manager Kent Hughes said reports on Price’s knee aren’t good and he could be out for the entire year.
If the goalie is placed on long-term injured reserve, that would free up $10.5 million in cap space, enough for Monahan and to sign Kirby Dach, a restricted free-agent centre the Habs acquired on draft night from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Monahan, 27, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, played 65 games last season, scoring eight goals and adding 15 assists. The Brampton, Ont., native has 212 goals and 462 points in 656 career NHL games, all with the Flames, who selected him No. 6 overall in the 2013 NHL draft.
Kadri, who will turn 32 in October, had 28 goals and a career-high 87 points in 71 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season. He was a key contributor in the team’s Stanley Cup run, scoring seven goals and adding eight assists in 16 playoff games.
