With the salary cap virtually unchanged in recent years, general managers are juggling NHL rules to stay within the limit. They have several options, including trading a player for future considerations, using the long-term injured list and buying out contracts. For Kent Hughes, there are three potential buyouts: Mike Hoffman, Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia. However, while the possibility of buying out Hoffman or Armia is real this year, it's not the case for Gally. According to Yvon Pedneault, the CH will seriously consider this possibility after the 2023-24 season. <q>They're going to look at this possibility in 2024, for now, it would come back way too high as a financial commitment, and the Habs have no chance of winning the Stanley Cup next year.</q> Fans would be sad with such an outcome, but hockey remains a business and Hughes must bring results. There's always the possibility that Gally will fall into the fountain of youth and become a dominant player again, but that scenario is becoming less and less likely with the injuries he's suffered. <blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=fr dir=ltr>[OPINION] Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton's busy schedule (Yvon Pedneault) <a href=https://t.co/nEip6aMSnc>https://t.co/nEip6aMSnc</a>- Le Journal de Montréal (@JdeMontreal) <a href=https://twitter.com/JdeMontreal/status/1665666706507792386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>June 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset=utf-8>