The Canadiens’ Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov are going to become very rich young men.
Hutson’s eight-year, US$70.8-million contract kicks in next season and it includes an US$11 million signing bonus to kick things off. In fact, $55 million (all figures in U.S. dollars with Puckpedia as source) of Hutson’s contract will be paid in signing bonuses.
Bonus baby: Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson’s new eight-year, US$70.8-million contract includes US$55 million in signing bonuses. John Mahoney/Montreal Gazette
Hutson will receive an $11 million signing bonus in each of the first two years, followed by bonuses of $9.5 million, $6.5 million, $6 million, $6 million and $5 million.
The annual salary-cap hit for Hutson will be $8.85 million, but his base salary will be $1 million in each of the first four seasons, followed by two seasons at $1.2 million and one season at $2.2 million. The final season of his contract doesn’t include any signing bonus money and his base salary will be $7.2 million.
“I just try to be myself every day,” the 22-year-old Hutson said when asked about the life-changing money coming his way when the Canadiens met the media last week for the final time this season. “Try not to think about it. Obviously, fortunate to be taken care of and all that stuff. But now I’ve got to pay it back to the organization and my teammates.”
Hutson is coming off a three-year, NHL entry-level contract that had a $950,000 salary-cap hit. Demidov, 20, is heading into the final season of his entry-level deal with a salary-cap hit of $940,833.
Expect the Canadiens to sign Demidov to a contract very similar to Hutson’s this summer because of the new NHL collective bargaining agreement that kicks in on Sept. 16 and runs for four years.
Among the changes to the CBA, players can’t sign for more than seven years with their current team, instead of eight, and signing bonuses will be capped at 60 per cent of the total value of the contract. Also, the lowest-paid season must be at least 71 per cent of the highest-paid season.
A big reason why the Canadiens have been able to sign key players to what appear to be team-friendly cap hits is their ability to pay huge signing-bonus money that can be invested and significantly increases the total value of the contract.
Canadiens blue-liner Lane Hutson waves to the crowd after being named the first star of Game 3 against the Buffalo Sabres in Montreal on May 10. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
Cole Caufield’s eight-year, $62.8-million contract included $5 million signing bonuses in each of the first two seasons. Juraj Slafkovsky’s eight-year, $60.8-million contract included a $7 million bonus the first year and a $3 million bonus the second year. Veteran defenceman Mike Matheson signed a five-year, $30-million contract that kicks in next season and has $20 million in signing-bonus money, including $5 million for each of the first two years.
The Canadiens acquired defenceman Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders in a sign-and-trade deal last summer. Dobson’s eight-year, $76-million contract has $38 million in signing bonus money, including $11 million in each of the first three seasons.
The Canadiens have captain Nick Suzuki under contract through the 2029-30 season. Caufield, Matheson and Kaiden Guhle are signed through 2030-31, Slafkovsky and Dobson through 2032-33 and Hutson through 2033-34. An eight-year contract for Demidov would lock him up through 2034-35.
“I wouldn’t change a thing, honestly,” Hutson said when asked about possibly leaving money on the table with his new contract. “So fortunate that I was able to lock that up for a long time and be here.”
Hutson and Demidov were roommates on the road this season and have become close friends.
Has Hutson told Demidov to get his contract done this summer?
“We’ll see,” Hutson said. “I don’t know. We’ve talked about it, but we’ll see.
“It’s probably going to be a lot of money either way,” Hutson added. “So you don’t have to worry about putting too much pressure on yourself. You’ve just got to play and do your thing. He’s a guy who is going to earn everything he gets anyways, so he won’t have to worry about any of it. I kind of tell him to just play and not worry about it, like I tried to.”
Hutson wasn’t able to agree to a new contract last summer and negotiations dragged into the start of the regular season before he finally signed on Oct. 13 after a one-on-one discussion with general manager Kent Hughes.
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“He’s really good at what he does,” Hutson said about Hughes. “Professional. Also just a good guy. He understands what everyone goes through. Tries to kind of understand on a human level what each and every one of us is going through. Easy to work with and easy to get behind what he’s saying. Sometimes it’s a tough part of the business, but he’s pretty good at it.”
Demidov has made it clear he wants to stay in Montreal and it makes sense for him to sign with the Canadiens this summer for many reasons.
“We talked a little bit about that,” Demidov said about discussions with Hutson on a new contract. “But just saying to each other that it’s important to stay here for a long time because the group that we have here is a (Stanley) Cup team.
“I like the city,” Demidov added. “I like this team. I like all the boys and our management, organization is pretty good. So I’m good with that. I want to stay here.”