free agents

Sheldon Souray meets the Edmonton media this month.
Andy Devlin, nhl.oilers.com

With four defencemen eligible for unrestricted free-agency on July 1, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey had hard decisions to make this summer.

It would be a busy time, as Gainey by practice does not negotiate contracts during the season. When the dust finally had settled, he had re-signed cornerstone Andrei Markov to a four-year, $23-million contract; traded veteran Craig Rivet to San Jose (just before the Feb. 27 trading deadline) for rearguard Josh Gorges and a draft pick; released Janne Niinimaa to test the market (he remains unsigned); and made two offers – one in May, the other in July – to all-star Sheldon Souray, who finally chose to sign a five-year, $27-million deal with the Edmonton Oilers.

Joining the Montreal blue line for 2007-08 from the Calgary Flames is veteran Roman Hamrlik, who signed for the same four years and $22 million Gainey is reported to have offered Souray on July 2, a day after the NHL's free-agency period had opened.

Former Canadiens defenceman Sheldon Souray is eager to return to hockey after a busy summer that saw him undergo shoulder surgery, welcome a new daughter into the world and sign a five-year, $27-million unrestricted free-agent contract with the Edmonton Oilers, returning him to his home town.

I talked for an hour with Souray this weekend, and he spoke highly of his experiences in Montreal over seven seasons, and of growing as a player on the ice and an individual off it. But he also went into fine, candid detail about his contract talks with the Canadiens, discussing why he chose not to return to the Habs.

“There are no bitter feelings toward anyone. None. I don’t leave Montreal with one shred of remorse for having played there," he says. "But I didn’t think it was going to play out like it did. It was disappointing how things finally went down.”

The feature will appear here and in The Gazette on Monday morning.

Returning Canadiens Patrice Brisebois makes himself comfortable on the dressing-room carpet at the Bell Centre.
Dave Sidaway, Gazette

It seems you can go home again: the Canadiens have signed free-agent defenceman Patrice Brisebois to a one-year contract. RDS reports he signed for $700,000 in base salary, with that same amount in bonuses which he could earn. Here's today's Gazette report by Pat Hickey.

The Gazette's Red Fisher writes that the Canadiens essentially came up empty during the free-agent frenzy, while their Eastern Conference rivals, especially those that missed the playoffs, took significant steps in the right direction. Overall, he rates the Habs' performance as a 'C'.

Read his column here.

A week since the free-agency period opened, defenceman Sheldon Souray remains unsigned. Comes word from Newsday in New York that Islanders GM Garth Snow is seriously considering the two-time Canadiens all-star. And here's some thinking aloud by Habs I/O poster Robert Lefebvre, who asks why Souray wasn't snapped up sooner.

Tomas Plekanec
Signs for two years

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey announced today the signing of forward Tomas Plekanec to a two-year contract (2007-08, 2008-09). He'll be paid $1.4 million this season and $1.8 million, a handsome and well-deserved from his minimum-wage $450,000 of 2006-07.

The contract prevented Plekanec from going the often unpleasant route of salary arbitration to plead his value to his team, while the club suggests he's not worth what he thinks.

Here's a link to a feature on Plekanec published in The Gazette 10 days before the end of this past season, talking about his excellent sophomore campaign. It has a link inside it to the audio of the conversation.

Canadiens GM Bob Gainey faces any number of hurdles attracting free agents to Montreal.

Today, The Team 990's Tony Marinaro, host of the 12 noon to 1 p.m. Montreal Forum hockey show, put the financial questions to Jonathan Bicher, a chartered accountant and tax partner at Nexia Friedman in Montreal.

What followed was both interesting and depressing for Canadiens fans, and team management trying to improve their roster by way of the free-agent route.

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey announced today the signing of free agent forward Tom Kostopoulos to a two-year contract (2007-08 and 2008-09). As per club policy, financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but RDS reports it is for a total of $1.8 million.

Gainey meets the media today.

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey told the Montreal media this morning in a wide-ranging talk at the Bell Centre that even with $2-3 million left in his salary budget, his free-agent shopping is pretty much done – no Alexei Yashin or Brendan Shanahan, thank you very much – though he'll keep an open mind should something stupendous fall into his lap.

Gainey also added that defenceman Sheldon Souray is no longer in talks with the club, those discussions having ended yesterday, and that forward Michael Ryder has filed for salary arbitration and fellow forward Tomas Plekanec might soon follow suit.

Here is Gainey in his own voice, in English and French interviews.

The Gazette's Pat Hickey summarizes Gainey's address here, and in the paper today writes that May's four-year, $23-million signing of defenceman Andrei Markov was a bargain.

Roman Hamrlik
Brings experience

Canadiens General Manager Bob Gainey announced today the signing of free agent defenceman Roman Hamrlik to a four-year contract (2007-08 to 2010-11). He'll be paid $22 million over the four years.

According to an RDS report, Sheldon Souray turned down the same offer from the Canadiens. RDS reports that Souray is now studying offers from the New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars.

Here is the audio of Hamrlik's conference call with Montreal media. He's on the phone from the Czech Republic, hence the sometimes shaky quality.

Gainey is expected to meet the Montreal media tomorrow morning to discuss his pursuit of free agents.

Smolinski in action last season.
Courtesy Vancouver Canucks

The Canadiens lost one centreman this afternoon with the departure of Radek Bonk to the Nashville Predators, the unrestricted free agent signing a two-year deal in Music City.

But they also gained one with the acquisition for one year, at $2 million with a no-trade clause, of Vancouver Canucks' Bryan Smolinski.

Smolinski, 35, is 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds, provides the Canadiens with some badly needed size down centre.

The Canadiens are his eighth NHL team in a career which began with the Boston Bruins in 1992-93.

Canadiens centreman Radek Bonk is now a member of the Nashville Predators, having just signed a two-year contract.

The Fourth Period offers this almost sad review of what Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey tried to do, failed to do, and what might now hope to do with the UFA pool rapidly drying up.

The Ottawa Sun reports today that Senaturs UFA defenceman Tom Preissing is headed to the Los Angeles Kings, though a deal has yet to be confirmed.

A selection of newspaper links to coverage of the major signings:
Philadelphia Inquirer on Daniel Brière;
New York Daily News on Scott Gomez and Chris Drury;
St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Paul Kariya (late Sunday: 3 years, $18 million);
Orange County Register on Mathieu Schneider;
Detroit Free Press on Brian Rafalski;
Rocky Mountain News on Ryan Smyth and Scott Hannan;
Toronto Star on Jason Blake;
The Gazette's Pat Hickey on the Canadiens standing pat.

Ryan Smyth, aka Captain Canada for his role in international hockey, signed with the Colorado Avalanche late last night, for $31.25 million over five years. The Denver Post reports that, with D Scott Hannan, the Avs now have two of the best mullets in the NHL.

TSN has provided a real-time signing tracker today, now including defenceman Scott Hannan signing a four-year, $18-million contract with the Colorado Avalanche.

Add the New York Rangers to the teams at the checkout line today, signing free-agent forwards Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. Gomez signs on for $51.5 million over seven years; Drury will earn $35.25 million over five years.

Former Canadien Mathieu Schneider won't be returning to the Montreal blue line, having played seven seasons and won a Stanley Cup here: he's just signed a two-year deal with Anaheim paying him $5.5 million and $5.75 million to be a Duck.

This move preceded the expected retirement of Ducks captain and star defenceman Scott Niedermayer, who's a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Daniel Brière: Philly-bound
Courtesy sabresfans.com

The Philadelphia Flyers today did not dive into the Canada Day free-agent pool, they cannonballed into it, signing centre Daniel Briere to an eight-year contract worth $52 million.

The deal will average $6.5 million a season, with the first year paying him $10 million. The contract also features a no-movement clause.

Brière reportedly had been offered a six-year, $42-million deal with the Canadiens. But it wasn't enough to bring him to Montreal. RDS reports than Julien BriseBois, the Canadiens' VP of hockey operations and the man responsible for balancing the Habs' books, travelled to Los Angeles to make the club's pitch to Brière and his agent, Pat Brisson, who said his client had lots of offers and interest.

Free agent defenceman Brian Rafalski has agreed to a five-year, $30 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Rafalski is regarded as one of the top defenceman on this year's free-agent market.

The NHL's free-agency period begins at one minute past noon on Sunday EDT, and Habs Inside/Out will be keeping an eye on things to see how and when Canadiens GM Bob Gainey moves. With nothing coming from the camp of UFA-eligible defenceman Sheldon Souray since Gainey made him a contract offer in late May, watch for the 30-year-old from Fishing Lake, Alta., to dip his line into free-agent waters, the offers soon to be coming his way.

The period of free-agency begins at one minute past noon EDT on Sunday. Canadiens.com's Manny Almela looks at some of the big names expected on the market, and considers how the Habs might fit in their plans.