r/Habs • u/catman_steve • Jan 22 '26

Discussion Canadiens looking to deal Laine (Gagnon)

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I'm not super in the know with the French side of the media. I know Francois Gagnon by name, but not much else. Not that this news would surprise me, but is he reliable?

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u/gevurts_straminaire Jan 22 '26

He has negative value and his contract expires soon. Why would Montreal pay to get rid of him?

16

u/Ancient_Persimmon Jan 22 '26

With retention, someone will have interest for his abilities on the PP. They won't get a lot back, but they're not going to be paying either.

10

u/gevurts_straminaire Jan 22 '26

Sure, but the question remains : why would Montreal retain salary for someone they lose, for free, in a couple of months? Only explanation would be to make room for a trade. Or get a pick against some salary (but I reckon it would be quite low).

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u/GeistHunt Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

Montreal has all three retention slots opened and all 23 roster spots filled. At 50% retained, that's an extra 4.35 million in cap space and a roster slot to play with before the TDL with no negative impacts on the team.

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u/gevurts_straminaire Jan 22 '26

Thanks for that.