A Montreal Canadiens fan blog
Contract signing
Hal Gill close to resigning with Montreal Canadiens
Jun 1st
It’s been reported that Hal Gill has signed a 1 year deal with the Habs. On the Canadien’s website, he’s “close to resigning with the Canadiens“. Which means the deal is done I would think. 
I think Hal is a great piece to the “habs puzzle”. He’s obviously a leader on the team, we’ve heard about his great attitude and his mentoring of the younger Habs defensemen.
While he’s not the fastest skater or the most skilled player in the NHL, he gives his 100% and the amount of shots he directly blocks or alters in the course of a season is a valued statistic.
Glad to see you back Hal!
Carey Price signs a 2 year deal with the Montreal Canadiens
Sep 2nd
With all the whoopla over Price not being signed and we’re in september…. well, there you have it.
He just signed a 2 year deal.
To be honest, seeing as there are still many RFAs unsigned in the league and the summer’s generally been slow with deals and signings… I don’t think there was a panic to begin with. Except for those who thought they should panic.
Details on the Price signing are here on the Canadiens website.
Camp is just around the corner…. we can now get back to our regularly scheduled programs.
Montreal Canadiens sign Alexander Avtsin to 3 year deal
Jul 15th
Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier announced the signing of prospect Alexander Avstin to a 3 year deal.
I’ve been anxious to see much more of Avtsin since he was drafted. The 19 year old just finished this year’s development camp last week.
The scouting reports said this guy had an physical game and lot’s of offensive skill. There was talk of Alexander possibly playing with the Juniors de Montréal or Hamilton. Now it’s official that we’ll see him in North America.
I would guess that Avtsin will spend the season in Hamilton. I’m sure we’ll see a glimpse of him at camp!!
Check out the official release:
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=534383
Montreal Canadiens sign David Desharnais to a 1 year deal
Jul 14th
RDS reports that the Habs have re-signed David Desharnais to a 1 year, 2 way deal.
Desharnais’s agent mentions in the article that David preferred to avoid arbitration and wants to prove his worth on the ice. In this age of big business in sports…. and all the big money…. it’s completely respectable to me that Desharnais made that choice.
In fact, another player (not a Habs player) who settled for a smaller contract just last year (I believe it was last season) was Manny Malhotra. He pretty much went in and worked really hard…. put his focus on playing hockey as best he could and this year he signed a 3 year 2.5 million dollar deal.
Not sure that Desharnais will follow that exact path but I think he’s got a shot at sneaking in and taking some ice time this season. Seeing him play last year I can’t help but think a bit about Gionta and Martin St Louis. Not just because Desharnais is 5’7, I mean yeah that’s part of the comparison but the other part is that Desharnais was all hustle.
I look forward to seeing him a little more this year.
Maxim Lapierre signs a 1 year $900 000 contract
Jul 13th
According to RDS, Maxim Lapierre and the Montreal Canadiens have agreed on a 1 year $900 000 contract.
Last year, Plekanec had signed a 1 year deal and responded with a big year. I’m wondering if this will light a fire for Lapierre. Hopefully it will.
Lapierre has shown that he can be an effective pest for opponents. I’m always hopeful for every player that wears the “CH”…. and I only wish Lapierre all the success.
Maxim also provided a bit of humor in the playoffs…. anyone remember 2 diving penalties in a playoff game for Maxim?? Followed by 1 for Gionta…. man…. memories. What’s the record for diving calls in a game anyway?
