I am not sure i understand - Mtl has Price on LTIR. His contract counts on the habs' cap, but they are given an allowance equal to his salary to make up for it. Prices' salary, is covered (in part? completely?) by insurance right now, meaning the losses to the owner are negligible or nonexistent.
Given the scenario above, it seems to me that the person acquiring Price would benefit more than the habs from this trade; the team acquiring price would have cap ceiling or floor issues. This move would buy them time to deal with those specific situations until his contract expires, and potentially save them more money than the habs would have had to pay Price in the first place.
I guess my question is, why wouldn't the habs ask for a return if this situation means they are helping another team out?