NHL Rumor Mill – May 8, 2025
NHL Rumor Mill – May 8, 2025
Could the Canadiens attempt to trade Carey Price’s contract? Which centers could they target in this summer’s trade market? Could the Rangers shop Alexis Lafreniere? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE LATEST CANADIENS SPECULATION
PUCKPEDIA: Marco D’Amico believes the Montreal Canadiens could attempt to trade Carey Price’s contract to free up cap space for next season.
A knee injury ended Price’s playing career in 2022. Since then, the Canadiens placed him on long-term injury reserve (LTIR) to garner salary-cap relief. However, it could complicate things next season with promising youngsters like Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov carrying performance bonuses in their contracts. If those players hit those bonuses, the Habs will be tagged with an overage.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has been sidelined since 2022 (NHL Images).
Price’s contract has one year left with a $10.5 million cap hit, but he’ll earn an actual salary of $7.5 million, of which $5.5 million will be paid out as a signing bonus on July 1. The Canadiens could peddle it to a team trying to reach the salary-cap minimum next season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens did the same thing with Shea Weber’s contract in 2022, trading it to the Vegas Golden Knights for winger Evgenii Dadonov. The Golden Knights flipped it to the Arizona Coyotes (now the Utah Mammoth) in 2023. Utah sent that contract to the Chicago Blackhawks at this year’s trade deadline.
Price carries a full no-movement clause but he won’t block the Habs from moving his contract. The $2 million base salary would make it quite affordable for teams hoping to keep their payrolls near the league minimum.
TVA SPORTS: Vincent Duquette listed 10 possible trade targets for the Canadiens to address their need for a second-line center, examining the pros and cons of each player.
Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders top his list, followed by Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly, Minnesota’s Marco Rossi and Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras.
Boston’s Pavel Zacha, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin, Seattle’s Matty Beniers, Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers, and Dallas’ Mavrik Bourque round out the list.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Isles aren’t trading Horvat or Barzal unless one of them wants out, and even then, the Canadiens might not be on their lists of preferred destinations. O’Reilly lacks a no-trade clause, but the Predators treat him like he has one.
Rossi has resurfaced in the rumor mill. He’s a restricted free agent coming off an entry-level contract and finished second among Stars scorers with 60 points. However, the Canadiens could prefer a more physically imposing center.
Injuries have hampered Zegras over the past two seasons. He’s been primarily employed as a winger.
The Bruins are unlikely to move Zacha because they’re already thin at center and hope to bounce back from this season’s disappointing performance. Malkin intends to retire as a Penguin. The Kraken won’t part with Beniers unless the Canadiens are willing to overpay.
Zibanejad’s decline over the past two seasons screams “Buyer Beware!” Bourque is a promising player. but hasn’t established himself as a second-line center.
Looking at the list, the Canadiens’ best option might be Rossi, but it means adding another small forward to their roster.
COULD THE RANGERS TRADE ALEXIS LAFRENIERE?
NEW YORK POST: Mollie Walker took note of a reader’s point suggesting Alexis Lafreniere didn’t come up as much for poor play compared to some of his teammates this season. She believes it’s because the 23-year-old is still considered in their younger players category.
Walker noted that Lafreniere caught his share of flak after signing a seven-year contract extension last October. She doesn’t think it would be off-board for the Rangers to trade him, pointing out he’s underperformed during his five-year career.
Lafreniere lacks no-trade protection until 2026-27. Walker suggested that might prompt general manager Chris Drury to do something sooner rather than later if that’s the route he wishes to go.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Veteran winger Chris Kreider remains the player most likely to be moved in a cost-cutting trade this summer. Drury could hang on to Lafreniere, hoping he improves next season. Nevertheless, we can’t dismiss the possibility that he moves the young winger if he fetches a better return than Kreider.