posted by Pat Hickey at 19h52 EST on Aug 8
The Canadiens find themselves short on defenceman for their minor-league team in Hamilton after free agent Andre Benoit signed a two-way deal with the Ottawa Senators.
Benoit was part of the Bulldogs' Calder Cup-winning team in 2007 and then played one season in Finland and one in Sweden before returning to Hamilton last season. A puck-moving defenceman, the 26-year-old had six goals andf 30 assists last season. The loss of Benoit leaves the Canadiens with only five defencemen on the farm although they do have eight – including recent addition Alexandre Picard – on the NHL roster.
• Steven Hindle looks at the D prospects
posted by Mike Boone at 7h36 EST on Aug 8
posted by Mike Boone at 7h00 EST on Aug 7
posted by Mike Boone at 6h05 EST on Aug 6
posted by Mike Boone at 6h03 EST on Aug 5
posted by Pat Hickey at 17h23 EST on Aug 4
Doug Jarvis, who was dropped from the Canadiens coaching staff after Jacques Martin became the head coach, has been hired as an assistant coach by the Boston Bruins.
Jarvis will replace Craig Ramsay, who left the Bruins to become head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers. Jarvis spent three seasons with the Canadiens, including working under Bruins head coach Claude Julien. He sat out last season but was being paid by the Canadiens.
Jarvis played 13 seasons in the NHL and was part of four Stanley Cup champion teams in Montreal. He won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in 1984 with the Canadiens and the Masterton Trophy for dedication to the game while playing for Hartford in 1987.
• Are you counting the hours till the Heritage Classic? Love the Flames jersey. Where they playing the game, Ronald McDonald House?
• Hey, great journalism, RDS.
They take Dave Stubbs' interview with Carey Price's agent, Gerry Johansson, massage the info into French and the lede is: "Selon ce qu'a appris RDS ..."
Yeah, "RDS has learned" ... by reading Habs Inside/Out.
At least we credit their stories.
posted by Dave Stubbs at 12h46 EST on Aug 4
The slow pace of Carey Price's contract talks is "relatively normal," his agent says.
John Kenney, Gazette
Nothing terribly significant to report on contract talks between the Canadiens and goaltender Carey Price, who has been an unsigned restricted free agent for a little more than a month.
Gerry Johannson, Price's agent, says that the two sides "are not necessarily close, but it's not that we're not close in a bad way. We're having good conversations and we both are commited to getting things done." Johannson says the slow pace of talks is "relatively normal" and that his hope is to have a deal done by the end of this month or early next month.
The agent says he's seeking a shorter-term deal, which would likely translate to a year or two.
It's an unusual summer, of course, with the number of goaltenders changing address and teams' rosters still taking shape. The Chicago Blackhawks' decision to walk away this week from the Antti Niemi's arbritration ruling has begun rumours in Montreal that the Canadiens would go after the goalie who led the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup since 1961. But Johannson's understanding is that this is positively not true.
Johannson returned a call to Inside/Out as a courtesy. He agrees with Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier that Price's contract should not and will not be negotiated through the media.
posted by Mike Boone at 7h59 EST on Aug 4
ESPN's Scott Burnside sizes up the Northeast Division.
On the Canadiens:
Curious offseason for the Habs, who, after squeaking into the playoffs
on the final weekend of the regular season, surprised everyone by
knocking off Washington and Pittsburgh in seven-game sets before falling
to Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals last spring. Playoff
hero Jaroslav Halak was shipped off to St. Louis before he could go to arbitration, leaving up-and-down Carey Price to man the fort with only journeyman Alex Auld
as backup. Playoffs look to be a life-and-death experience, once again,
for the Canadiens and maybe more death than life with the at-times
immature Price at the helm and little in the way of a Plan B behind him.
Another key will be the ability of franchise defenseman Andrei Markov
to return from the knee surgery he underwent during the playoffs for a
torn ACL. His availability for the start of the season remains unknown.
• Jacques Demers thought he was going to die
• Canucks can Ryan Walter
• José Theodore to Nashville?
• OK, so the Canadiens haven't won the Cup for 17 years. Montreal is still Chick City
• From Down Goes Brown: A Pro Athlete's Guide to Using Twitter
The great Maurice Richard would be 89 today ... (thanks for the reminder, nightmare_49)
Continue reading "The previews begin" »
posted by Pat Hickey at 13h13 EST on Aug 3
One of the good things about the salary cap - from a team's perspective - is that there are some bargains out there.
The Canadiens added veteran defenceman Alexandre Picard on the weekend and he signed a two-way contract which will pay hinm a meagre $600,000 if he sticks in the NHL. That's less than the $850,000 he made last season in Ottawa and Carolina. Picard will collect $105,000 Cdn if he plays in Hamilton. He and Curtis Sanford are the only Bulldogs earning more $100,000 and that's a recognition of their veteran status.
• Juniors want Avtsin
• Bruins cap situation, after signing Seguin
posted by Mike Boone at 5h39 EST on Aug 3
posted by Kevin Mio at 21h33 EST on Aug 2
Glen Metropolit. Mike Zarrilli, Getty Images file photo
According to reports, Glen Metropolit is headed back to Europe to continue his
hockey career. The former Canadiens centre signed a two-year deal with EV Zug
in Switerland yesterday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Metropolit, 36, played three seasons in Europe, including a
stint with Jokerit Helsinki from 2003-05, and Lugano in Switzerland for the
05-06 season. He returned to the NHL for the 06-07 season with the Atlanta
Thrashes.
The Canadiens claimed Metropolit, a Toronto native, off
waivers on Feb. 27, 2009 from the Philadelphia Flyers. Metropolit scored 16
goals and added 13 assists for Montreal last season.
posted by Mike Boone at 17h40 EST on Aug 2
posted by Pat Hickey at 8h14 EST on Aug 2
The contract Louis Leblanc signed with the Canadiens last week has a potential value of $3.6 million U.S. but only if the youngster makes the NHL team directly out of junior hockey.
The entry-level deal is the standard two-way contract and kicks in when he plays his first pro season which presumably would be 2011-12. According to our friends at capgeek.com, the contract has a cap hit of $1.2 million which includes an $810,000 base salary, $300,000 in bonuses and a $270,000 signing bonus which is spread over three seasons.
If Leblanc doesn't make the Canadiens, he'll still get the signing bonus and will be paid $67,500 Canadian playing in Hamilton.
* * *
What have you done for us lately?
The Blackhawks have walked away from the $2.75 million Antti Niemi was awarded in arbitration.
Chicago has signed Marty Turco, for $1 million less.
And no one mentions Cristobal Huet ... or his $5.6 million contract
posted by Mike Boone at 5h52 EST on Aug 2
On
Carey Price: When last we saw the future of Montreal goaltending, he was relegated to
mop-up duties in the playoffs, shooting pucks at Washington players in
frustration and trying to whack them with his stick from the bench.
Well, wonder of wonders, Price is back to being "the man" in Montreal
with Jaroslav Halak
dealt to St. Louis. If Price has taken his maturity pills this summer
all will be forgiven because the youngster does possess the required
tools to be a good one. But that's a big "if."
And on P.K. Subban: The effervescent Subban hadn't even stepped on the ice for a Canadiens
playoff game this spring, and he was already being heralded as a star by
the adoring Montreal fans. And for the most part, the 43rd overall pick
in the 2007 draft didn't disappoint. He is big and skates like the
wind. He handles the puck well and ate up surprising minutes for
normally conservative head coach Jacques Martin during the Habs'
surprise run to the Eastern Conference finals. What does the kid do for
an encore? Exactly what we were wondering.
•
Stu Cowan: Markov should learn to parlez-vous, un p'tit peu
• Down Goes Brown hits the Post
posted by Mike Boone at 6h48 EST on Aug 1
He rested.
That's our plan, too.
Fresh air on the agenda, and later – inspired by Andrew Berkshire – Inception in Imax.
Go fo a walk. Go to the beach if you're lucky enough to live near one. Hang with your loved ones, if you have some.
By HIO decree, it's National Blow-Off Hockey Day.
(So watch the Canadiens announce they've signed Price, prompting 1,200 pro and con Comments.)
But before packing the picnic, consider J.T.'s typically wise summation of the BGL Story:
I totally agree that Laraque came to the Canadiens under false
pretenses. He's been hurt with the Penguins the year before to the
point that when he couldn't play to start his first season in Montreal,
Crosby said, "Is it his groin again?" I think the "Code" was a system
of beliefs created to cover for the fact that Laraque really *couldn't*
fight anymore. He won his contract with the Canadiens based on his
fearsome reputation, then couldn't fulfill it. Both he and the team
were at fault: Laraque for not being honest and the team for not having
him thoroughly checked out before they signed him. It was a bad, bad
signing, all around.
And this Tweet from Down Goes Brown: If
Habs fans treat elections the way they treat all-star game fan
balloting, let me be the first to congratulate Prime Minister Laraque.
• • •
And if your perambulations take you to downtown Montreal, maybe you'll see a woman who looks like Deborah Harry
Share the agony and ecstasy of Habs fandom and read live blogs from every game with Gazette columnist Mike Boone.
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