The Montreal Canadiens and pending unrestricted free agent Alexander Radulov are still working toward a new deal, but it sounds like they’re pretty far apart.
Radulov has reportedly asked the Canadiens for a six-year deal worth $7 million per season, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
On Friday morning, Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reported that the Canadiens aren’t exactly on the same page as Radulov’s camp.
Per Engels, Marc Bergevin’s longest offer to Radulov has been three years, which doesn’t sound like it’s going to get the job done at this point.
Still believe, based on what I've been told, there's compromise to be made and both parties would like to agree. Big gap to close, though.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) June 23, 2017
The 30-year-old Russian winger (he’ll turn 31 next week) was one of Montreal’s most consistent forwards in 2016-17. He scored 18 goals an 54 points in 76 games in his first season with the Canadiens.
Even though the Habs were able to land Jonathan Drouin in a trade with the Bolts, they could still use Radulov’s offense going into next season.
During a press conference on Thursday, Bergevin mentioned the possibility of trading Radulov’s rights away before he hits the open market on July 1st.
Food for Thought: Based on Radulov comparables in relation to contracts signed since 2012, the averaged out result is 4yrs x $6.35M cap hit. pic.twitter.com/PAOmqLTs1a
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 23, 2017
It sounds like this negotiation will come down to the wire.