Montreal Canadiens pushing to trade Shea Weber
On Saturday night, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman stated that the Canadiens may try to trade Weber, or more precisely, his contract, in the near future to a team looking to stay under the salary ceiling.
"While a lot of the conversation in Montreal has been about available defenseman, there is another one there as well, and that is Shea Weber's contract," Friedman said during Saturday night's NHL broadcast of the Vancouver Canucks-Toronto Maple Leafs game. "Naturally, Weber will never play in the National Hockey League again.''
''He has four years remaining after this year, but the cap hit is $7.9 million while the cash value is $6 million, and I wouldn't be surprised if some teams in need of long-term injury room or who want to get to the cap floor without spending a fortune in the next couple of years look at that Weber contract. This is a viable course of action."
When Friedman says "six million bucks in all," he means just that.
Weber's contract was substantially front-loaded prior to the NHL enacting regulations prohibiting such deals, meaning he will earn $3 million next season and only $1 million per season for the next three seasons. This means that clubs seeking to reach the cap floor may do so extremely cheaply, which could very well transform Weber's contract into a legitimate asset for the Montreal Canadiens in the future.
Credit: HF
