The Montreal Canadiens have burst out of the gate in the preseason, capturing impressive victories over Toronto and Pittsburgh. Their forward unit has been leading the charge, setting the tone for what could be a breakthrough season.
However, while the Canadiens have enjoyed a strong start, their captain’s contract has quietly become one of the league’s best bargains. With Kirill Kaprizov now holding the richest deal in NHL history, one insider believes Montreal’s early move looks increasingly brilliant.
NHL Insider Says Canadiens Got a Huge Bargain With Nick Suzuki’s Contract
The standoff between the Minnesota Wild and star forward Kirill Kaprizov dominated the summer. Even with the franchise offering a massive $128 million over eight years to keep their superstar forward in Minnesota, it wasn’t enough to close the deal.
Those hoping to see Kaprizov hit free agency next summer had their dreams crushed quickly. On Tuesday, September 30, Wild GM Bill Guerin announced an eight-year, $136 million extension, locking down the superstar and setting a new benchmark for NHL contracts.
With an AAV of $17 million, the Russian has now set the league standard for superstar forwards for the next few years. But while experts and fans alike were fretting over the numbers, one insider believes that the Canadiens’ deal with Nick Suzuki has really been a bargain for the team.
Marco D’Amico, in his recent tweet, mentioned, “A contract signed out of an ELC a year early in a flat-cap setting is going to look like a steal moving forward. Matt Boldy at 7M for another 4 years is what allows you to sign a Kaprizov for 16M (still high).”
A contract signed out of an ELC a year early in a flat-cap setting is going to look like a steal moving forward.
Matt Boldy at 7M for another 4 years is what allows you to sign a Kaprizov for 16M (still high).
Montreal will be able to keep pace due to the aggressive GMing here.… https://t.co/in6npMsO6W
— Marco D’Amico (@mndamico) September 30, 2025
D’Amico believes signing players a year early out of their entry-level contracts will become standard practice across the league. He pointed to the Wild as the perfect example: locking up Boldy at $7 million annually for seven years created the cap flexibility to offer Kaprizov a record-breaking deal.
He sees the same playbook at work with Suzuki. By extending their captain in October 2022, before his bridge deal expired, Montreal locked him in at $7.875 million annually. Had Suzuki hit the open market as a proven #1 center, he’d easily command upwards of $10 million in today’s rising cap environment.
D’Amico continued, “Montreal will be able to keep pace due to the aggressive GMing here. Both MB and KH.” He acknowledged Montreal GM Kent Hughes, whose early contract strategies created cap flexibility for the Canadiens.
The insider believes this approach will become the new blueprint: lock up core players before their entry-level deals expire, creating the cap room needed to land superstars like Kaprizov in free agency.
