Off-Season Report: Montreal Canadiens
MONTREAL, QC -- Montreal fans are still catching their breath over the end of last season and I don't mean because of fumes from flaming cars.
After an incredible and unexpected run in the playoffs, Montreal fans were stunned just weeks later when it was announced that Jaroslav "The Client" Halak had been traded to the St. Louis Blues.
Thousands of fans mourned the loss of the Halak Attack and got their eggs ready for the second coming of the Artist Formerly Known as Montreal's Favorite Goalie, but credit Pierre Gauthier for not resting on his laurels. Well, except with Carey Price. So don't clear your throat quite yet for the boos, Montreal folks -- Pierre Gauthier has been busy with virtually every other signing, re-signing, hiring, trading and drafting possible for the team.
New Blood: Signings
Alex Auld (G): Goaltender Alex Auld has signed a one-year deal with the Canadiens for $1 million. Auld split the 2009-10 season between the Dallas Stars and the N.Y. Rangers. He was 9-7-3 with a 2.95 GAA and .895 save percentage. Auld is familiar with head coach Jacques Martin, who was with the Florida Panthers when Auld played there in 2006-07.
Alexander Avtsin (RW): The Moscow native, selected in the fourth round in 109th overall by the Canadiens at the 2009 NHL entry draft, signed a three-year contract (2010-11 to 2012-13) with a cap hit of just over $600,000 if he makes it in the NHL. Avtsin, 19, played 30 games in 2009-10 with the KHL’s Moscow Dynamo, registering nine points (3 goals, 6 assists). Avtsin participated in the Canadiens’ development camp in July 2009 and this past camp in July 2010.
Dustin Boyd (C): The Canadiens came to terms on a one-year contract for Dustin Boyd, who was obtained in the trade that sent Sergei Kostitsyn to Nashville. Boyd played 78 games with the Calgary Flames and the Nashville Predators in 2009-10 and registered a career-best 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) and posted a plus-6 differential.
Cédrick Desjardins (G)</B>: Desjardins, 24, signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $550,000 for the 2010-11 season, after leading all AHL goaltenders in 2009-10 with a 2.00 goals-against average in 47 games. He posted a 29-9-4 record, finishing fourth in the league in wins, and second in shutouts (6). His 29 wins set a franchise record for the most in a season for a Bulldogs goaltender.
Lars Eller (C)</B>: The 21-year-old was acquired when the Canadiens traded away playoffs' superhero Jaroslav Halak. The 6-foot-1 and 198-pound centerman played seven games with the Blues in 2009-10 and scored two goals while posting a plus-2 differential on an average of 10:49 of ice time. Pierre Gauthier says of the native of Herlev, Denmark, “I think Lars is almost ready to contribute for us as early as this year.”
Louis Leblanc (C): Selected in round 1 #18 overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the former Harvard student recently signed a two-way entry-level deal potentially worth $3.6 million if he makes the team directly out of junior hockey. It is expected that Leblanc play his first pro season in 2011-12 under a contract with a cap hit of $1.2 million, including a base salary of $810,000, $300,000 in bonuses and a $270,000 signing bonus spread over three seasons.
Alexandre Picard (D): Veteran defenceman Picard took a $250,000 pay decrease and signed a two-way contract worth an easy $600,000 if he plays in the NHL. Picard, who started the 2009-2010 NHL season with the Ottawa Senators before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on February 12, had a combined total of 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists) and 26 penalty minutes in 54 games.
Ryan Russell (C): The 23-year-old forward signed a one-year, two-way contract for the 2010-11 season worth $550,000. Russell played 74 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2009-10, finishing sixth on the team with 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) and maintaining a plus-16 differential. In the playoffs, he contributed 12 points and posted a plus-5 differential.
Ian Schultz (RW): Schultz is the second part of the equation that stripped Montreal of Halak. At 20 years old, he was 6th among team scoring leaders in 2009-10 with 55 points (24-31-55) in 70 games with the WHL Calgary Hitmen, a team he co-captained.
Just blood: Re-signings
Mathieu Darche (LW): 33-year-old Mathieu Darche signed a one-way contract in the amount of $500,000. The one-way deal guarantees that he will not be paid less if he is sent to the minors. Darche registered 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) in 29 games played with the Canadiens in 2009-10.
Maxim Lapierre (C): The Canadiens' pest signed a one-year contract worth $840,000. The 25-year-old center registered 14 points (seven goals, seven assists), and fired 101 shots on goal in 76 games. He led the Canadiens with a career-high 164 hits in the regular season and 49 hits in 19 playoff games. He also leads the Canadiens in words said on ice with 783,928.
Tomas Plekanec (C): Montreal fans breathed a sigh of relief that was immediately followed by raised eyebrows when Tomas Plekanec signed a really lucrative six-year contract worth $30 million, complete with no-trade clause. Montreal's favorite goatee played his career-best season in 2009-10 with 70 points (25 goals and 45 assists). Although you might not know it, the stealth Czech is a permanent fixture on the team, missing only four games over the last four seasons. Plekenac says of the deal, “I couldn’t be happier and this is an exciting time for me.”
Benoit Pouliot (LW): The 23-year-old signed a one-year contract worth $1.35 million, a nice pay raise compared to last season's $803,000. Pouliot scored nine goals in his first 13 games with the Canadiens, and finished the regular season with 17 goals and two assists. He was acquired in a trade sending Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild.
Tom Pyatt (C): Pyatt signed a one-year contract worth $500,000, a significant pay decrease for the 23 year old. Pyatt was acquired in the seven-player trade with the New York Rangers that brought Scott Gomez to Montreal last June. He registered 5 points (2 goals, 3 assists) in the 2009-10 season with the Canadiens.
Curtis Sanford (G):The 30-year old netminder signed a two-way contract that would pay him $550,000 in the NHL, though he will likely play in Hamilton. Sanford played 41 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2009-10, recording 23 wins including four by shutout, 11 losses and 3 overtime losses with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
No dice: Departures
Marc-André Bergeron (D): A defensive liability, Bergeron will not be back to work his magic on the point in Montreal next season, Gauthier has ruled. Contrary to Mara, Bergeron did manage to put up some numbers in his 2009-10 season with the Canadiens: 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) and a minus-7 differential. He is also a free agent at this time.
David Fischer (D): The Canadiens' first-round draft choice (20th overall) in 2006 will become a free agent on August 15, as Gauthier will not be making a contract offer to him.
Jaroslav Halak (G)</B>: Montreal's answer to everyone's prayers in the 2010 playoffs against the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins, Halak has made the city take down the Halak stop signs and signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Blues. Halak, 25, led all playoff goaltenders with a .923 save percentage in 18 games played, went 26-13-5 with a 2.40 GAA and a .924 save percentage, good for fourth in the NHL. He also registered a club record for number of saves in a 60-minute playoff game with 53 saves against the Capitals, and was voted the 2010 Molson Cup winner as the team's most valuable player. Remind Montreal why Gauthier traded him, again, please?
Sergei Kostitsyn (LW): Problem child and underachiever Sergei Kostitsyn was traded to the Nashville Predators in return for Dustin Boyd's services, which is more than most Montreal fans thought the Canadiens could get for him on top of that bag of pucks. During his three years of service with the Canadiens, the younger Kostitsyn brother registered a total of 68 points (24 goals, 44 assists) and a plus-10 differential. His third and final year would prove to be his worst, during which Sergei contributed only 18 points to the Canadiens. Well, that, and a gargantuan headache caused by his attitude problems and off-ice antics.
Paul Mara (D): The 31-year-old defenseman's services will not be required in the next season, Gauthier has decided. Unsurprisingly so. Mara registered unimpressive numbers: a total of eight points (0 goals, 8 assists) and a minus-6 differential. Mara is still a free agent at this time.
Glen Metropolit (C): The former Canadiens centre signed a two-year deal with EV Zug in Switzerland. He put forward 29 points last season, but his contribution to the team goes far beyond goals and assists. A classy, hardworking player, Metro won over the hearts of Montreal fans with his integrity and desire to just play. The love is shared, as Metropolit comments on his time spent in la belle province: "I wish everybody could experience being a Canadien. It's something special, that's for sure, and I've been all over the place." If one were to resume why Montreal loved Glen Metropolit so, it could be done with the following quote of his: "I'm leaving the NHL as a Montreal Canadien. What more can I say?"
Dominic Moore (C): The 30-year-old forward signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning for $1.1 million per season. Moore registered 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) with the Canadiens in the 2009-10 season, and a total of 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) split between the Canadiens and the Florida Panthers.
To be determined
Carey Price: A restricted free agent with no arbitration rights this year, Price has had an up-and-down career in Montreal, to say the least. This was no more apparent than this past season when the Halak Attack soared through town, stopping everything in its path. On June 17, when Halak was traded to the St. Louis Blues, all were expecting an easy, peasy, run-of-the-mill signing of Price, but a contract has yet to be inked. His agent, Gerry Johannson, says the two sides are "not necessarily close, but it's not that we're close in a bad way. We're having good conversations and we both are committed to getting things done." Johannson is seeking a short-term deal, translating to a year or two, while it is presumed that Price wants a three-year deal worth $3 million per year. It is also expected that he will never see that kind of money after the numbers he put up last year: he went 13-20-5 and registered a .912 save percentage, with a number-of-pucks-flung-at-players average of 2. Says Price, "I'm happy to still be there. Montreal is a great place to play and the fans are great."
Drafted players
Jarred Tinordi: At this year's entry draft, Pierre Gauthier traded up five spots, 27 to 22, surrendering the Canadiens' second-round pick, to select big defenceman - 6'6", projected to weigh up to 230 lbs - Jarred Tinordi, son of former NHLer Mark Tinordi. A scout says "When he plays a physical, nasty, pass-first game, he's as good as there is. But when he starts to dangle, his warts show." Another claims, "He will need to improve upon his skating and puck skills (...). He’s clearly a project that if he works out, will be a force on an NHL blueline. There is just a lot of work to be done."
In the fourth round, the Canadiens selected Mark MacMillan, a forward from the BCHL and Morgan Ellis, a defenceman who played for Cape Breton. They were picks 113 and 117 overall.
In the fifth round, Brendan Gallagher was selected 147th overall. He is a 5'9" RW who scored 41 goals and had more than 110 PiM for Vancouver in the WHL. He is the son of the team's strength and conditioning coach.
The final pick, 207th overall in the seventh round, was John Westin, a LW playing for the Modo Juniors in Sweden.
Behind the scenes
Pierre Allard: Strength and conditioning coach. Larry Carrière: Assistant general manager. Randy Cunneyworth: Head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Quick and painless tidbits
Andrei Markov: The shy defenceman was sworn in as a Canadian citizen in July. Now if only he spoke French.
Canadiens' captain: There still is none.
Scott Gomez: The player on the current roster with whom Canadiens fans have the biggest love-hate relationship will wear No. 11 on his jersey this coming season. Fans tend to get restless in the off-season, as this made news following some fans' indignation that he wear Saku Koivu's number. The summer season is long.
All in all, it wasn't the most exciting off-season for the Canadiens' fans, with the exception of the goaltending saga. Hey, remember when there WAS no goaltending saga in Montreal? The Montreal Canadiens play their 2010-11 home opener against the Tampa Bay Canadie...Lightning on Wednesday, October 13.
