Ryan O'Byrne

It's been said the Canadiens are a family unto themselves. It's something Habs defenceman Ryan O'Byrne has learned in the past weeks and months, leading to and since last Sunday's loss of his mother, Lorelei, to breast cancer.

The 25-year-old flew home to Victoria early last month to spend a few days with his mother, who was in the final stages of a disease she'd been battling since O'Byrne was in junior hockey. Canadiens GM Bob Gainey encouraged him to take 10 days, time O'Byrne now cherishes before he'll attend his mom's memorial service back home during the Olympic break.

O'Byrne sat quietly in the dressing room after practice yesterday and shared a little of what has been on his mind, and how he's taken strength from those around him. Here's that story.

Habs Inside/Out, on behalf of the site and its readers, expresses its sympathies to Canadiens defenceman Ryan O'Byrne, who lost his mother, Lorelei, to breast cancer on Jan. 28.

O'Byrne had taken a leave of absence early last month, missing four games for family reasons, when his mother was critically ill. Her passing is announced in this notice.

O'Byrne is expected to remain with the team, a memorial service for his mother to be held in Victoria, B.C., next Tuesday.

(Nice idea from reader Peter Stone in a comment below: if you wish to send your wishes to Ryan, visit the link above and sign the guestbook at the bottom of the notice.)

In good spirits in the dressing room Saturday night, Canadiens defenceman Ryan O'Byrne said he couldn't wait to see his fight with Rangers' Aaron Voros on YouTube.

Well, Ryan, since you and all of your teammates are devotees of our site, or so we delude ourselves into thinking, here you go:

Rehabilitating Canadiens defenceman Ryan O'Byrne was skating up a storm early this morning in Brossard with team head athletic therapist Graham Rynbend. A good sign as O'Byrne continues to rebuild his sprained knee; he's pencilled in for a return at the end of the month, though the team hopes it's earlier than that.

Follow Stubbs's live updates from 11:30 a.m. ET practice today on Twitter. Find those updates here.

UPDATE: Jaro Spacek is practising. Therapy day for Brian Gionta. Everyone else on the ice. Team wearing green pants and helmets, which they'll wear Tuesday at home vs. Calgary with the throwback red and green, maple-leafed jersey.

UPDATE 2: Lines at practice: Gomez with Cammalleri and Andrei K (Gionta therapy day); Plekanec with Latendresse and Lapierre; Chipchura with White and Pyatt; Metro with Moen and Pacioretty.

George Gillett and his much taller partner, Tom Hicks, have bought themselves 12 months of breathing room on their loan from the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia.

Uncles George and Tom – or, as they're known in the pubs of Liverpool, "those Yank c%$#s" – still owe a huge whack of money and have to a) maybe find a deep-pocketed partner and b) figure out how to build a new stadium at Anfield.

From the Guardian:

When they bought Liverpool in 2007 for £174m assuming £44.8m in liabilities, Gillett promised not to load any debt on to the club. When it emerged that they had done so, and that plans to build a new stadium were being put on hold, there was anger from fans.

Learned colleague Pat Hickey reveals BMO has replaced bankrupt CIT in providing $225 million toward the Molson brothers' $550 million purchase of the Canadiens.

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Just in time for the Florida trip.

From the Kremlin PR office:

(Ryan) O’Byrne, assigned to the Bulldogs on December 31, 2008, scored five points (1 goal, 4 assists), posted a plus-7 rating and served 27 penalty minutes in 13 games this season with Hamilton. The 6'6'', 228-pound blueliner, who started the season in Montreal, collected three points (3 assists) with 23 penalty minutes in 22 games with the Canadiens in 2008-09.

    O'Byrne, 24, was a Canadiens third-round selection, 79th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

 

Courtesy of Cory Kornelsen, editor of McKeen's Hockey, a scouting report on Ryan McDonagh:

Robust two-way defenseman .. commanding all-access skater that is strong on his edges with sharp acceleration .. has become more productive this season because he's anticipating the play incisively and is asserting himself more offensively with the puck .. has underrated hand skill and a quick shot that he is beginning to get on net with more frequency, as he's already surpassed his career high with four goals on the year .. his on-ice vision and creativity with the puck are mediocre, although he makes calculated decisions and doesn't rush into many mistakes .. suffocating one-on-one defender that is a pillar of strength on the backend and is one of the most physically imposing defenders in college hockey .. lacks prototypical height but it doesn't matter because he boasts tremendous strength and has a mean streak .. his influential backwards and lateral mobility allows him to maintain tight gaps before angling off his man to the wall .. fiercely covers his net and clears his crease area with conviction .. a safe bet to play in the NHL sooner rather than later.  

 • Ryan O'Byrne and the sophomore jinx

• Jarkko Ruutu pleads innocence 

• Steve Bégin talks to his coach

• Canadiens fans voting for all-Hab All-Star lineup 

• Damien Cox and Ken Campbell of the Hockey News on the Kostopoulos hit

• Mathias Brunet on Brian Burke

• Bruins in Burke hunt?

• Scott Burnside weighs in on Burke 

RDS reports Ryan O'Byrne has been demoted to seventh defenceman.

At practice today, Josh Gorges took O'Byrne's spot with Roman Hamrlik. The third pairing was Francis Bouillon and Patrice Brisebois.

Carey Price returned to practice this morning and will back up Jaroslav Halak against the Ducks tomorrow night. But Andrei Kostitsyn is still out.

Christopher Higgins skated with Maxim Lapierre, Georges Laraque and Matheu Dandenault.

Robert Lang centred Tom Kostopoulos and Steve Bégin. There's a line that strikes terror into the heart of Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and François Beauchemin.

• François Gagnon on Mike Komisarek, Christopher Higgins and the U.S. election

Canadiens defenceman Ryan O'Byrne has been cleared of all charges related to an incident at a Tampa Bay bar, RDS is reporting.

He has recently completed a five-month transition period where he apologized to the woman involved in the incident, completed community service and was on his best behaviour.

It's good news for the blue-liner as a criminal record would have hurt his NHL career as travel to the U.S. would be extremely difficult. 

Ryan O'Byrne has signed a three-year contract worth $2.825 million. He will make $700,000 this season, $725,000 in 2009-'10 and $1.4 million in the final season of the deal.

O'Byrne made $590,000 last season.

The signing leaves the Canadiens $6.8 million under the salary cap.

From the Mother Ship:

Montreal Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced today the signing of defenseman Ryan O’Byrne to a three-year contract (2008-09 to 2010-11). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Ryan acquired a great deal of NHL experience last season. He is part of our young core of defencemen and certainly has the potential of becoming a very good NHL player. He is big, intense and his physical play are important assets for our team,’’ said Bob Gainey.

O’Byrne, who will turn 24 on July 19, will begin his second season in the NHL this fall. In 2007-08, he scored seven points (1 goal, 6 assists) and served 45 minutes of penalty in 33 games with the Canadiens, averaging 13:23 minutes of ice time per game. The 6’5’’, 228 lbs defenceman also played 20 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs, posting eight points (2-6-8), a plus-4 differential and 49 penalty minutes. He was named to the Canadian AHL All-Star Team.

A native of Victoria, British Columbia, O’Byrne was selected in the third round by the Canadiens, 79th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He played three seasons with the ECAC Cornell University Big Red from 2003 to 2006.

Shawn Belle under contract
The Canadiens also announced today the signing of defenseman Shawn Belle to a one-year, two-way contract (2008-09). Belle, 23, was acquired from the Minnesota Wild on July 11 in return for forward Corey Locke.

When the Canadiens selected defenceman Ryan O'Byrne in the third round of the 2003 National Hockey League entry draft (79th overall), he was viewed as a long-term project. Judging by the progress he has made so far, the team's project deserves a high grade.

After three seasons at Cornell University, O'Byrne turned pro in 2006, joining the Hamilton Bulldogs for their Calder Cup championship season last year in the American Hockey League.

The Victoria native has progressed rapidly since turning pro and made his NHL debut in December, only to have his rookie season interrupted by a broken thumb he suffered during a fight a few weeks later.

But the 6-foot-5, 228-pounder has come back strong and hasn't looked out of place against NHL competition. He has one goal, four assists, and a plus-4 rating in 30 games, along with 45 penalty minutes, including 15 in last night's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Read this week's One-on-One here.

As we await further details – Canadiens will issue a mealy-mouthed statement after their 4 p.m. practice today – let's be thankful that the incident did not involve guns, knives, illegal drugs, underage girls, strippers, ladies of the evening, racial slurs, DUI, brawls with bouncers – or star players.

Ryan O'Byrne and Tom Kostopoulos, however, are in deep sewage with a conservative (with gusts to uptight) organization that frowns on rookie dinners ending with last call and an overnight stay in the nick.

The timing sucks. This debacle will be a huge distraction as the team prepares for back-to-back games in Florida, then a home-and-home with the Flyers.

What's with O'Byrne in the Sunshine State? He breaks his thumb fighting the Panthers. Then on the team's next southern sojourn, the big galoot gets busted for stealing a woman's purse ... and tells the cops she's his girlfriend .... and when they ask her name he doesn't know it.

For this O'Byrne spent three years at an Ivy League university?

You learn better manners in major junior.

And back in the day when I used to close bars, you could rely on anyone whose last name began with O' to be the last man standing.

The Canadiens have recalled defenceman Ryan O'Byrne from the Hamilton Bulldogs after he played only two games since being sent down on Feb. 7.

The Gazette's Pat Hickey reports that  head coach Guy Carbonneau was not happy with his defencemen after Saturday's game. It's unclear who might sit, but Patrice Brisebois played less than 10 minutes against the Senators.

Here is the team's official release on O'Byrne's recall:

The Montreal Canadiens announced today that defensemen Ryan O’Byrne has been recalled from the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

The 23-year-old rookie played 11 games with the Canadiens this season, scoring two points (2 assists) while delivering 20 hits and blocking 18 shots. He was assigned to Hamilton on February 7 after missing 16 games due to a hand injury suffered on December 28 in Florida. With Hamilton, O’Byrne registered eight points in 20 games (2 goals, 6 assists), a plus-3 and 49 penalty minutes.

O’Byrne will join the Canadiens on Sunday in Tampa Bay.

The Canadiens announced right before the game on Thursday that rookie defenceman Ryan O'Byrne has been assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

This is likely a conditioning stint as O'Byrne continues his recovery from a broken thumb. He was at the Canadiens' practices this week and appears ready to return to action.

He will rejoin the Bulldogs on Friday. 

Habs' Ryan O'Byrne had two assists in his NHL debut Thursday.
Bruce Bennett, Getty Images

The Gazette's Herb Zurkowsky writes that Canadiens defenceman Ryan O'Byrne made quite an impression during his NHL debut on Thursday night in Boston.

O'Byrne recorded two assists in 14:30 of ice time over 20 shifts. He also had two hits and blocked a shot.

"Things went pretty well," O'Byrne said Friday, after the team's practice in Verdun. "I kept it simple. I got a couple of points, we got the win and I had some hits.

"Absolutely, I was nervous," he added. "Something's wrong if you're not nervous."

The Canadiens today announced that they have recalled forward Maxim Lapierre and defenceman Ryan O'Byrne from the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

The team also announced that Mikhail Grabovski has been sent to Hamilton to make room on the roster for Lapierre and O'Byrne.

This is from the team's official release:

Lapierre, 22, ranks second in scoring with the Bulldogs with 14 points in 19 games (seven goals, seven assists). He is a plus-2 with 63 penalty minutes.

O'Byrne, 23, collected eight points in 18 games (two goals, six assists). He is a plus-4 with 43 penalty minutes.

Grabovski, 23, played in 12 games for the Canadiens this season. He recorded two points (one goal, one assist).