Of the nine Canadiens players who were facing unrestricted three agency at the end of the year, five have received contracts for the coming season. The Canadiens re-signed three of them. Mathieu Darche, Andrei Kostitsyn, Chris Campoli and Jaroslav Spacek are still awaitiing offers.
In just over six weeks Marc Bergevin has filled eight administrative positions while juggling the issues surrounding a total of more than a dozen free agents. For the most part, he gets a passing grade for sticking to a management game plan.
Max Pacioretty has become the go-to forward for Team USA at the World Championships. Four Canadiens prospects will square off at the Memorial Cup tournament this weekend in Shawinigan. A loophole will allow the Canadiens to turn Nathan Beaulieu pro in September. And Blake Geoffrion learns of the lunatic fringe of Canadiens fandom.
The Canadiens traded forward Andrei Kostitsyn to the Nashville Predators in return for a second round draft pick, their only move on the NHL level on ‘trade deadline day’. Late in the day they returned forward Louis Leblanc to the Hamilton Bulldogs and called up Blake Geoffrion. Geoffrion was acquired from the Predators a week and a half ago as part of the deal that sent Hal Gill to Nashville.
It turned out that, for various reasons, Andrei Kostitsyn was the only one of their four pending unrestricted free agents that could be moved. Kostitsyn, joins his brother in Nashville basically for a 2013 second rounder. The next best talent on the list was Travis Moen, who is rumoured to have either a neck or concussion injury, and appeared to risky. Defenceman Chris Campoli and forward Mathieu Darche also remain. The Canadiens also claimed tough guy Brad Staubitz off re-entry waivers from Minnesota.
Questions and answers on an off day for the Canadiens – Is P.K. Subban a serial “slew footer”? Andrei Kostitsyn’s future in Montreal, if any. The size and length of Carey Price’s next contract? the next coach of the Canadiens. and Michael Cammalleri leaves Montreal under a undeserved cloud. Read all about it.
Among other things on our Sunday review – Max Pacioretty has an appointment NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan Monday morning. The league will also be talking to the game officials about the way Saturday night’s Pittsburgh game ended. The Canadiens penalty killers make news and the Hamilton Bulldogs are worse off than the Canadiens in the injury department.
Andrei Markov practiced this morning in a white jersey for the first time in just over a year. The white jersey meant he had been cleared for full contact scrimmaging with his teammates. He made the trip with the team to Carolina but it’s unlikely he’ll be cleared to play in a game for another two weeks or so.
Andrei Kostitsyn became the eighth member of the Canadiens to miss at least a game with an injury this season. A nagging groin injury will keep him out of tomorrow night’s game in Nashville. Michael Cammalleri became a casualty for the second time when he suffered a thigh injury against Edmonton on Tuesday. If this keeps up the Canadiens could run their man-games-lost to 300 by the end of the season.
The Canadiens recalled forward Aaron Palushaj from their Hamilton Bulldogs farm team today to replace the injured Andrei Kostitsyn in their lineup. It’s the fourth time Palushaj has been re-called in the last thirty days.
