The Canadiens de Montréal are set to open their first-round series against the Lightning of Tampa Bay on Sunday, April 19, 2026, with a payroll that could sit nearly $27 million below the Plafond Salarial. That would give the club the smallest lineup payroll in the playoffs if the expected scratches hold. The calculation also assumes Noah Dobson does not unexpectedly return for the afternoon game.
How the Plafond Salarial changes the picture
The NHL told teams before the start of the regular season that it would introduce a postseason cap this year, the first in league history. The measure is meant to tighten control on clubs that had made heavy use of the long-term injured reserve list.
In practical terms, playoff payroll is based on the average annual salaries of the 20 players dressed for the game, with scratches excluded. Retained salary, performance-bonus penalties, and contracts buried in the American League are also part of the calculation. For Montréal, that picture includes $1, 752, 500 in performance bonuses carried over from 2024-2025 as a penalty this season.
What the Canadiens are carrying into Game 1
If Brendan Gallagher, Patrik Laine, Joe Veleno, Adam Engström, David Reinbacher and Samuel Montembeault are indeed in the stands, the Canadiens would ice the NHL’s lightest playoff payroll at the start of the series. The expected figure is $68, 645, 000, which is $26, 855, 000 under the $95. 5 million cap.
That places Montréal at the bottom of the 16 playoff teams in this specific measure. Pittsburgh follows second in that ranking at $73. 55 million. The club’s numbers are also built on the assumption that Dobson, listed at $9. 5 million, does not rejoin the lineup.
Immediate reaction around the cap math
The broader reaction inside the numbers is clear: the Canadiens are dealing with a cap system that now follows them into the spring. The club is also looking ahead to a separate penalty next season tied to bonuses.
For 2026-2027, Montréal will have a $1, 934, 412 penalty taken off its payroll because the combined performance bonuses of Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, Oliver Kapanen and Jacob Fowler reached $1, 980, 000, leaving only $45, 588 under the Plafond Salarial at the end of the regular season. The team was already set to absorb a $1, 752, 500 penalty this season from prior bonuses, underscoring how the Plafond Salarial has become part of the Canadiens’ financial reality.
Quick context on why the bill keeps coming
The context is straightforward: bonus-heavy entry-level contracts can create future penalties when the cap space is not enough to absorb them. The Canadiens have managed the structure carefully, but the arithmetic still leaves a charge for next season.
The clearest sign of that pressure is how close the club finished to the limit this year, with only $45, 588 remaining under the cap at season’s end. In that sense, the Plafond Salarial is not just a playoff wrinkle for Montréal; it is shaping the club’s next cap year too.
What comes next
The focus now turns to the opening game against Tampa Bay and whether the expected lineup holds. Any late change would alter the payroll math, but the larger story remains the same: the Canadiens are entering the postseason with a low-cost roster and a future penalty still waiting on the other side of the Plafond Salarial.
