Ryan Miller

At a time when too many NHL general managers are spending money like drunken sailors, Gazette sports editor Stu Cowan points out that Bob Gainey (flashing his best Eddie Creachman move in this photo) has done a masterful job of managing the Canadiens' payroll.

• And in Buffalo, Sabres GM Darcy Regier is drawing praise for his smooth negotiations with Ryan Miller,  a franchise cornerstone who has re-upped for five years.

•  •  •

CBSsports.com's Wes Goldstein has rated the off-season moves of NHL teams.
Here's Goldstein's take on the Canadiens:

The biggest news out of Montreal so far this summer has been the announcement that the team will host next spring's draft. It's going to be part of the franchise's centennial, an anniversary the team hopes to celebrate with a 25th Stanley Cup title.
Montreal believes that goal is in reach if it can land the missing piece it has been seeking so desperately since the trade deadline. That would be big center Mats Sundin, the former Toronto captain who has yet to decide if he even wants to continue his career. Montreal traded for his negotiating rights before the free-agent market opened, but to this point have failed to convince the 37-year-old to sign.
In the meantime, the Canadiens haven't stood still, trading for high-scoring but sometimes tentative forward Alex Tanguay and adding some muscle with enforcer Georges Laraque. Montreal also re-signed some key young players including Andrei Kostitsyn, who was targeted by the upstart new Russian league. Overall, the Canadiens probably has enough to repeat as division champs, but if they can land Sundin, the Habs might just be legitimate Cup contenders. Grade: B