Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin will have a puzzle to assemble at the end of the 2020-2021 season with several important players who will be entitled to complete autonomy.
This is the case of the three members of the team’s first trio, Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher, but also Jeff Petry on the blue line.
Bergevin could technically open negotiations with one of his three attackers or with his defender in the hope of quickly concluding a contract extension.
Since the ratification of the collective agreement between the NHL leaders and the Players’ Association, the NHL’s general managers have been free to offer new contracts to players whose agreements will expire at the end of the 2020 season -2021.
Asked about it, Tatar said it is not a priority for him.
“To be honest, I didn’t think about it too much,” replied the Slovak. With the pandemic, I focus on other subjects. I imagine there will be discussions, but nothing more. Right now, I’m focusing on our return to the game and our battle against the Penguins [de Pittsburgh].»
To be continued…
With the freeze on the salary cap at $ 81.5 million for the 2020-2021 season and a probable very small increase in the future, several NHL teams will find themselves financially stuck. This should not be to the advantage of future free agents without compensation.
“Honestly, I didn’t think about it at all,” replied Tatar. During the pandemic, we put all these things aside, we think about health. The focus is on the playoffs and the team. We will certainly have these discussions, but at the moment, I am looking forward to the playoffs.
“However, I can tell you that I love Montreal. The supporters are very kind to me, as is the organization. I have a lot of fun so far. It is a very cheap one. We will know more when the discussions start. ”
At the break from NHL activities on March 12, Tatar was at the top of the CH scorers with 61 points (22 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games. He will earn $ 5.3 million next season, but the Golden Knights will pay another $ 500,000 of that amount.
On the ice for a long time
Tatar quickly regained his place on the left wing of the first trio at the CH camp with Danault and Gallagher. He always believed in a possible resumption of action in the NHL.
“Honestly, maybe I had a different perspective. In Slovakia, our cases were very weak and life quickly returned to normal. We were able to skate. I was just happy to come back. There are different realities depending on the countries of origin of the players. We haven’t played since March, we missed it. ”
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