Brian Rolston

TSN reports Washington has signed defenceman Mike Green to a four-year contract at $5.25 million per. Nice raise: he was making an entery-level $850,000.

The Capitals and Cristobal Huet are far apart, however. He's said to be demanding $5 million per. Ridiculous. Bob Gainey  was wise to salvage something for him at the trade deadline.

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Plan B is alive!

Brian Rolston will not sign with Tampa Bay ... at least not right away. He's going to test free agency.

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Anaheim is close to a deal with Corey Perry. He'll get Ryan Getzlaf money: $5.325 million.

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Potential UFA Bryce Salvador – acquired from St. Louis for Cam Janssen by New Jersey at the trade deadline for – stays with the Devils. Four years, $2.9 million per.

One goal, 10 assists, 54 PiM and plus-12. Averaged 19:47 in 64 games. Was making $1.5 million.

The signing foils the dream of a defence corps consisting of Salvador, Mike Commodore, Steve Montador and Sheldon Souray, who's a revolving door.

In a mere 28 hours, Mats Sundin becomes a free agent.

To play or not to play? That is the question.

And the Swedish Hamlet is in no hurry to answer, which leaves the Canadiens dangling and confronting their own question:

UFA or SFA?

Bob Gainey has phoned Sundin. He's e-mailed him. The Toronto Sun reports the Canadiens offered Sundin a two-year contract at $8 million per.

No decision.

Pat Hickey suggests the Canadiens should start formulating a Plan B, which might include Marian Hossa.

The Canadiens need a centre, Hickey writes, but the UFA crop thins out after Sundin – and it got thinner on Sunday when Minnesota traded Brian Rolston's rights to Tampa Bay for a conditional draft choice.

And as the clock ticks down to midnight, still no word on a new contract for Andrei Kostitsyn.

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Edmonton bolstered its blueline by trading centre Jarret Stoll and defenceman Matt Greene to Los Angeles for d-man Lubomir Visnovsky.The Oilers assume the last four years of a five-year, $28-million contract Visnovsky sined wit the Kings a year ago.

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Defencemen John-Michael Liles and Adam Foote have passed up free agency and are staying in Colorado.

Liles has signed for four years at $4.2 million per season. He was making $1.4 million, and Liles' extension is a benchmark for what the Canadiens will have to offer to keep Mike Komisarek beyond this season.

Foote was making $4.6 million and has signed a two-year contract at $3 million per.

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How valuable is a puck-moving defenceman?

There are reports the Chicago Blackhawks will offer Brian Campbell $8 million a season when he becoes a UFA tomorrow.

Campbel was making $1.75 million in San Jose.

Hands up everyone expecting a 460 per cent raise this year.

Rolston, not Campbell.

If the Canadiens end up blue-balled and spurned in their wooing of Mats Sundin, signing Brian Rolston would be a great consolation prize.

Rolston was in the final season of a three-year Minnesota  Wild contract that paid him $2.432 million per. He's probably available in the $4 million to $5 million range.

The 6'2, 214-pound  native of Flint, Michigan, turned 35 in February. Rolston can play all three forward positions, and he's a power-play  quarterback (11 goals on the PP last season) – which will be important in what is shaping up as the post-Streit era in Montreal.

Rolston is a model of consistency – three consecutive 30-goal seasons for the Wild – and durability: he's missed only 11 games over the last seven seasons.

Rolston's eight game-winning goals tied Marian Gaborik for the Minnesota lead. His 289 shots were a team high.

McKeen's Hockey describes Rolston as  "a talented skater with dynamic accceleration and top speed ... not overly big nor phtical butplays an energetic, up-tempo style and works hard defensively ... thrives on special teams ..."

Rolston was New Jersey;s first-round draft choice, 11th overall, in 1991 and won a Cup with the Devils in '95. He's been involved in the trades that sent Claude Lemieux from Colorado to New Jersey and Raymond Bourque from Boston to Colorado. Rolston signed with Minnesota as a UFA in 2004.

Some Personal Notes from the Wild web site:

Rolston and his wife Jennifer, have three sons, Ryder, Brody and Stone, and make their offseason home in Traverse City, Michigan...Nickname is “Rolly”...Hobbies include playing golf, guitar and drums...Began playing hockey at age five...Most memorable NHL moment is being a part of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals...Names his brothers, Ron and Greg, as the most influential people in his hockey career...Grew up rooting for the Edmonton Oilers and his favorite player was Mark Messier...Played baseball, soccer and golf, in addition to hockey, as a kid...Names Roger Federer as his favorite current-day athlete...Enjoys the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers...His favorite road city is New York City and Madison Square Garden is his favorite road arena...His first job as a kid was mowing lawns...Favorite food is pizza...Favorite television show is “The Office” and favorite movie is Anchorman...Names Howard Stern as the person he’d like to meet and Super Mario Party 8 as his favorite video game...Calls pizza his favorite food and omelette as his favorite breakfast dish...His favorite place to dine in the Twin Cities is 112 Eatery...Favorite part of Minnesota is “everything” and that “it’s a good state for families.”

Interesting that Rolston loves NYC. Maybe he becomes the Rangers' Plan B if they don't sign Sundin.