The calendar has turned to September and preseason games are only a few weeks away. As a result, there was a bit more activity on the transactions front around the NHL over the past seven days, the most notable of which is recapped in our key stories.
Rule Changes Starting This Season: The CBA extension that was agreed upon back in the spring called for some notable changes starting in 2026-27. But as it turns out, some will be in effect for this season instead. Chief among those is the changes to LTIR that will see the pool limited to the NHL average salary unless the player is out for the season and the institution of a playoff salary cap. Additionally, contracts with deferred compensation will only be allowed until October 6th, players assigned to the minors must play in one game before being recalled (to try to dissuade paper moves), a player can only have his contract retained on a second time after 75 regular season days have passed from his original trade, and post-deadline recall limits being expanded from four to five.
Price’s Contract Traded: After the Canadiens paid Carey Price’s signing bonus on Monday, it was widely expected that they’d move him to get out of using LTIR, a position they’ve been in since 2021. They did just that, sending the injured netminder to San Jose with a 2026 fifth-round pick in exchange for defenseman Gannon Laroque. Price hasn’t played since 2022 but has carried a $10.5MM AAV during that stretch, causing Montreal to have carryover bonus penalties each season since then which is why they were willing to part with a draft pick to avoid being in that spot this season. Meanwhile, the Sharks will only be responsible for paying 40% of his $2MM salary (insurance will cover the rest), meaning they’ve effectively bought a draft pick for $800K. As for Laroque, he has played in just 22 games over the last three years and didn’t suit up at all last season and his playing future remains in question.
Three For Zary: One of the few remaining restricted free agents reached an agreement on a new contract as the Flames re-signed forward Connor Zary to a three-year deal that will carry a $3.775MM AAV. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Calgary back in 2020 but he hasn’t seen a ton of action at the NHL level thus far, just 117 outings over two seasons. Last season, Zary was limited to just 54 games due to a pair of knee injuries but when he was in the lineup, he was reasonably productive with…
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