The Canadiens have parted company with forwards Benoit Pouliot, Tom Pyatt and defenceman Alexandre Picard. By not tendering qualifying contract offers by 5.00 this afternoon, the trio automatically became unrestricted free agents effective Friday. Picard was a free agent signing last summer who never caught on with the Canadiens. He was a healthy scratch thirty-one times. Pyatt was one
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The Canadiens already have 26.12 million dollars committed in contracts to their forwards. If general manager Pierre Gauthier sticks to his past budget plan of around 23 million dollars reserved for defense and goaltending, that leaves something in the neighbourhood of 13 million dollars in cap space to fill seven remaining roster spots. Gauthier has a big puzzle to solve, with myriad options.
Everybody seems to have an opinion about what Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier should do in order to upgrade his team’s offense. It runs the gamut from sending the unproductive Scott Gomez and the remaining three years of his contract to the Hamilton Bulldogs to signing, and then trading Andrei Kostitsyn.
Gauthier doesn’t telegraph his punches a la Brian Burke, so like everyone else, we can only guess the direction he’ll take. .
Jacques Martin has seen enough of Benoit Pouliot. Or maybe it’s not enough of him. In his three playoff games Pouliot has attempted only one shot and it was blocked. So. Enter Jeff Halpern. He of the lower body injury that has kept him out of eight of the last twelve games.
Only in Montreal?
More than twenty thousand fans, mostly kids, came to the Bell Centre this morning to watch the Canadiens practice. In skills competition, Max Pacioretty was the fastest skater, Andrei Kostitsyn and Brian Gionta won the target shooting and Benoit Pouliot had the hardest shot.
It turned out nicely after all, at least on the ice. The week’s schedule featured three games in less than four days (67 hours). It started with that home game against Edmonton Wednesday in which the Canadiens blew a 3-0 lead, losing 4-3 in overtime. The Canadiens came back the next night with a 5-1 win over the injury plagued and struggling Devils in New Jersey before returning home to grind out a 3-1 win over San Jose Saturday afternoon. In the end, the Canadiens took five of a possible six points
Canadiens coach Jacques Martin will make changes to his third and fourth lines tonight for the game against the Los Angeles Kings. Mathieu Darche, who was a healthy scratch Monday night in favour of Yannick Weber, will return to the lineup to play with Lars Eller and Benoit Pouliot. Tom Pyatt will be joining Jeff Halpern and Maxim Lapierre on the Canadiens other secondary unit. (read more)
Two goals from Benoit Pouliot, including the game winner, helped the Canadiens record a 3-2 win over the slumping Sabres in Buffalo. The game winner was scored on a Pouliot slapshot with 2:48 remaining in the second period. Playing with the lead, the Canadiens limited the Sabres to four shots on goal in the third period. The win ended a two game losing streak for the Canadiens. They host Ottawa at the Bell Centre Saturday night.
It’s about chemistry, or in this case lack-of-chemistry as it relates to Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta and the six or seven players who have played left wing on their line this season. Against Phoenix last night Benoit Pouliot, Travis Moen and Tom Pyatt saw almost equal time on the Gomez line. Tomorrow night Jacques Martin will again start the game with Pyatt on the left side. How long it lasts is anyone’s gue
The three Canadiens games in four nights produced two wins and one overtime loss, five of a possible six points. Untimely penalties hurt the Canadiens vs.Tampa Bay Wednesday. Carey Price faced 47 shots. Friday in Buffalo, the Canadiens halved the opposition shots on goal, got both goals from the defence (Picard & Gorges) and shut down the Sabres in the third period for a 2-1 victory. Saturday night they fell behind 3-1 against Ottawa and came back thanks to the Plekanec line. Ottawa was limited to 2 shots in the third period.
