The Montreal Canadiens have the cap room to make a move, and the Vegas Golden Knights have the kind of cap mess that can force one.
That’s why William Karlsson has started to look like a real name to watch in Montreal. The Canadiens are being linked to the veteran center as a possible answer for their second-line center spot, and the fit makes sense on paper for both sides.
Montreal is sitting among the league’s top 10 teams in available cap space, with a little more than $13 million, according to Puck Pedia. Brett Berard’s contract, which was made official on Thursday, trimmed that number a bit, but not enough to change the bigger picture. The Canadiens still have plenty of room to work.
Vegas, meanwhile, is in a very different spot. The Golden Knights are currently $8.61 million over the salary cap, and while teams are allowed to exceed the cap by 10% in the offseason, that only buys time.
Alex Pietrangelo is expected to go on LTIR to help the club get compliant, but that route is far from a clean fix. Montreal knows that firsthand from the Carey Price and Shea Weber situations, where LTIR complicated cap management.
If Kelly McCrimmon wants to avoid that path with Pietrangelo, moving a player becomes the other option. Karlsson is the name that stands out.
He gives the Canadiens a few things they need. At 33, he’s a dependable two-way center, and even though he was injured last season, he still profiles as someone who could handle second-line duties. His playoff work also caught attention: in 15 games, he put up nine points and finished at plus-10.
The contract side is manageable too. Karlsson carries a $5.9 million cap hit for one more season before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
In Other News...
Penguins Fans Wont Love This Familiar Top Six Trade Rumor
The Canadiens are still sorting through two separate fronts as the offseason moves along, and both speak to how they want to shape the roster around their young core. Jim Biringer of NHLRumors.com said Montreal has been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Penguins forward Bryan Rust, a reminder that the club is still looking for help up front while weighing how aggressive it wants to be in the market.
At the same time, Kirby Dachs contract situation remains unresolved, with Montreal viewing him as part of its future while trying to land on a deal that fits its plans before the arbitration hearing. The ongoing ations add another layer to a summer that already has the Canadiens balancing immediate roster needs against longer-term flexibility, and it is not hard to see why this one could keep evolving before anything is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Dach Situation Suddenly Looks Like A Big Win For Canadiens
Kirby Dachs contract situation has quietly turned into one of those small offseason developments that can matter more than it first appears. After a season in which he was limited to 37 regular-season games and finished with 15 points, the Canadiens have some leverage in the talks, and the latest read is that the two sides are trying to find common ground before things get any messier.
For Montreal, the appeal is obvious: avoid arbitration, settle the file, and move on without dragging the matter deeper into the summer. Dach may be willing to take a salary below $4 million if it comes with the security of a one-way deal, but the details still have to line up, and until they do, there is at least some room for the situation to shift again. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Just Added Another Name To A Crowded Bottom Six Battle
The Canadiens have added another forward to the mix, bringing in Brett Berard on a one-year, two-way deal for the 2026-27 season. Montreal already has plenty of bodies competing for bottom-six work, and Berard arrives with the kind of resume that keeps a player in that conversation: NHL experience, AHL time, and a recent stop in New York that showed both his upside and his need to keep pushing.
Berard also came to Montreal in a trade that sent defensive prospect William Trudeau to the Rangers, so this was more than a simple depth signing. The next question is where he fits once the season gets here, because the Canadiens can stash him in Laval with the Rocket or let him battle for a fourth-line opening if he makes enough noise in camp. [Read more 🡒]