It has been repeatedly stated that teams like the Montreal Canadiens and other Canadian teams are at a disadvantage when it’s time to sign players to new contracts because of the tax situation. Couple that with harsh winter weather, and you find yourself a couple of steps behind. Nothing can be done about the weather, and Garry Bettman said nothing would be done about the taxes.

What the NHL commissioner didn’t say, though, was that a new clause in the CBA would make matters worse for the teams north of the border as reported by RG.org. In the past, Canadian teams have been generous with signing bonuses when signing players for one simple reason: it allowed the player to pay less tax. Unlike pure revenue, bonuses are not taxed based on the location of work, but rather on the employee's residence.

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Take Cole Caufield, for instance. The $5,000,000 signing bonus he received when he signed his new contract was paid on July 1st. At that date, he wasn’t living in Montreal; he was residing in the United States, which means he would have paid less taxes. For him, that’s one of a kind, but there are players around the league who are paid a significant amount of money in signing bonuses. That practice will be curbed by the new CBA clause, which states that aggregate signing, roster, and/or reporting bonuses are limited to 60% of the aggregate compensation payable under the contract.

But look at the Toronto Maple Leafs' captain Auston Matthews’ contract. His cap hit is huge at $13,250 M per year, and every year, he receives a significant amount of money in signing bonuses. For instance, this upcoming season, his base salary will be $775,000, but he will receive a $15,925,000 signing bonus, for a total of $16,700,000 in salary. I’d say a lot more than 60% is paid in bonuses, and that’s pretty much the case for the last three years of his contract as well.

So far, the Canadiens have not used that loophole. Still, Lane Hutson appears to be in line for a “Matthewsian” kind of contract, which carries a lot of money, and considering the Habs have one of the best young defensemen in the league on their book, they’ll undoubtedly want to pay him accordingly.

Hutson is now eligible for a contract extension. Even if he does not sign a new contract before the start of the season, if I’m Kent Hughes, I make sure to sign him before September 15, 2026 when the new CBA will come into effect, give the kid some signing bonuses and show him you want to work with him and allow him to make the most of that loophole before it’s too late.

Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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