Canadiens add Smolinski

MONTREAL-- After falling short in the Briere and Smyth cases, there was no way the Canadiens were going to fall short for a third time.

Bob Gainey didn't, as he signed UFA center Bryan Smolinski to a 1-year contract, worth US$2 million, with a no-trade clause.

Smolinski's role is undetermined as of yet, as he may be the team's 2nd or 3rd line center.

It all depends if the Canadiens sign another center, more like if they sign Alexei Yashin.

This signing pushes Tomas Plekanec and his impressive 06/07 season aside. To get the playing he desires, he might even play the wing in 07/08.

This signing creates plenty of questions, who will surely be answered over the next week.

Smolinski had a good o6/07 as he totaled 18 goals and 44 points in 82 games with both the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks.

The 35-year old adds one main quality profoundly needed over the last past few seasons at the center's position: SIZE.

Smolinski has a big frame at 6'1" and 208 pounds.

The 14-year NHL veteran will be playing for his 8th NHL team, having scored 266 goals and 360 assists in 992 career games, with his 7 previous clubs.

Both Smolinski, and new acquiree Roman Hamrlik will, "hopefully", be playing their respective 1000th games in the NHL as Montreal Canadiens.

7/2/07 UFA SIGNINGS

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Please e-mail me at: afi.ville.49@gmail.com

8:30 PM Flames re-sign D Robyn Regehr:
5 years at US$20 million (US$4 million annually)


8:30 PM Coyotes buy-out C Dave Scatchard:
Making him an unrestricted free agent.


8:30 PM Flames sign LW Owen Nolan:
1 year at US$2 million (including bonuses)


8:30 PM Kings sign LW Kyle Calder: 2 years at US$5.4 million
4:00 PM Kings sign D Tom Preissing: 4 years at US$11 million


7:35 PM Ducks sign LW Todd Bertuzzi:
2 years at US$8 million (US$4 Annually)


7:30 PM Canadiens sign C Bryan Smolinski:
1 year at US$2 million with a no-trade clause


7:05 PM- Souray's options
After rejecting a contract offer from the Canadiens, here are Sheldon Souray's options (a.k.a. teams who have offered him a contract, per RDS):
Dallas Stars
San Jose Sharks
New York Rangers

6:45 PM Kings sign C Michal Handzus: 4 years at US$16 million
6:43 PM Kings sign LW Ladislav Nagy: 1 year


6:40 PM Predators sign F Radek Bonk and D Greg de Vries:
2 years


6:35 PM Thrashers sign D Ken Klee:
Multiple years


6:00 PM Blackhawks sign C Robert Lang:
2 years
Note: Michal Handzus' re-signing now seems unprobable.

5:25 PM Canadiens sign D Roman Hamrlik:
4 years at US$22 million (View Article Below)


5:20 PM Capitals sign F Michael Nylander:
4 years at US$19.5 million (View Article Below)


5:05 PM Rangers sign D Jason Strudwick:
Terms undisclosed


5:00 PM-Handzus has a deadline
According to blackhawks.nhl.com, the Chicago Blackhawks have told UFA forward Michal Handzus that he has until tonight to accept a Blackhawks' contract offer, unless he wants to hit the open market and explore other options.

4:30 PM-Hamrlik a Target
According to RDS.ca, the Montreal Canadiens have been negotiating a contract with UFA defenceman Roman Hamrlik. Check out my article below this post.

2:25 PM-Preissing to L.A. ?
According to the Ottawa Sun, UFA defenceman Tom Preissing has signed a 4-year contract worth an approximated US$11 million dollars (US$2.75 million per season). No official announcement has been made, of yet.

12:47 PM-Top 5 remaining free agents
5) C Peter Forsberg: Outstanding playmaker
4) D Tom Preissing: Very smart with the puck
3) G Dominik Hasek: Immune to age
2) C Michael Nylander: Great vision
1) D Sheldon Souray: Fantastic slapshot

12:36 PM Canucks re-sign D Lukas Krajicek:
2 years at US$2.2 million (US$1.1 million annually)


11:57 AM Maple Leafs re-sign LW Bates Battaglia:
2 years at US$1.3 million (US$650 thousand annually)


11:26 AM Predators sign F Jed Ortmeyer:
2 years at US$1.5 million (US$750 thousand per season)


11:07 AM-Rumor Central (Teams Interested):
F Brendan Shanahan (NYR)
F Alexei Yashin (WAS)
F Wes Walz (MIN)

Note: The Rangers could sign Shanahan if they offered him a contract of US$2 million with, let's say, US$2 million in performance bonuses. At 37, the bonuses, of a respectable amount, would
not count against the salary cap and would easily satisfy Shanahan. He would basically sign for US$2 million but would end up with US$4.

10:07 AM-Rumor Central (Teams Interested):
F Mike Comrie (LAK, NJ, TOR, WAS)
F Slava Kozlov (ATL, DAL, OTT)
F Michael Nylander (EDM, WAS)
D Tom Preissing (COL, LAK, SJ)
D Karel Rachunek (BOS)

1:18 AM-Penguins sign RW Petr Sykora:
2 years


1:02 AM-Penguins sign D Darryl Sydor:
2 years at US$5 million (US$2.5 million per season)

Canadiens sign Hamrlik

MONTREAL- Today, the Montreal Canadiens signed defenceman Roman Hamrlik to a 4-year contract, financial terms undisclosed.

"Roman Hamrlik established himself as a solid NHL veteran,'' Habs GM Bob Gainey said in a statement. ''The acquisition of Roman fills a very important need in our organization. He is a strong defenceman with a powerful shot and excellent hockey skills. He brings to our club a solid experience and an excellent reputation.''

The 33-year old Czech "power-play quaterback" will replace Sheldon Souray on the Canadiens' powerplay and as the Habs' no.2 defenceman.

Hamrlik has played in 999 career NHL regular season games with 4 teams: the Tampa Bay Lightning (1992-1998), Edmonton Oilers (1998-2000), New York Islanders (2000-2004) and most recently the Calgary Flames (2005-2007).

As soon as the 14-year NHL veteran hits the ice as a Montreal Canadien, he will have already hit a milestone, playing in his 1000th NHL game.

This signing puts an end to Sheldon Souray's possible return to Montreal.

Capital Changes

WASHINGTON-- After signing another quality forward, the Washington Capitals seem to be committed to complementing their young star Alexander Ovechkin, and to turning their team into one that could make the playoffs next season.

The Caps added veterans Tom Poti and Viktor Kozlov yesterday, at annual salaries of over US$2 million per season.

Today, they continued their free agent shopping, signing "playmaker extraordinaire" Michael Nylander.

Nylander will certainly be feeding the puck to the 2005/06 Calder Trophy Winner next season, and might even exceed the point totals he had last season while playing with Jaromir Jagr.

Who knows, the Capitals might be back in the playoff front, for the first time since... 2000/01.

Should we re-sign Sheldon ?

MONTREAL-- Eventhough defenceman Sheldon Souray will command a salary over US$5 million, why wouldn't Canadiens' GM Bob Gainey retain him?

With the loss of Daniel Briere and Ryan Smyth to the Flyers and Avalanche, there are no more US$6 million players on the market, therefore the Canadiens have the money and cap space to re-sign Souray, and a couple of tier II/III forwards.

Add to that the fact that all defencemen who could of replaced Souray are off the market, like Mathieu Schneider, Scott Hannan, Tom Poti and Brian Rafalski, and the Canadiens basically have no choice.

Although Souray has some serious defensive issues, his offense is irreplaceable. He led all defencemen with 26 goals, 19 of which came with the man advantage. He also ranked 3rd among blueliners with 64 points.

The question is, does Bob Gainey think that his offense makes up for his defense?

The answer is far from being known, but I can say that I do not think it does.

But let's face it, he's the best option we have.

Day 1: Winners and Losers

Losers:

1)BUF: With the loss of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the Buffalo Sabres are definately the day's biggest loser. Overconfident they would re-sign their top 2 forwards for "hometown discounts", Sabres GM Darcy Regier overestimated both forwards' loyalty towards the club, by not offering them contracts until 2 days before they became unrestricted free-agents. Drury and Briere both signed with Eastern Conference teams, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

2)NYI: Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth seemed like quite the pair of left wingers any team could want, but the New York Inslanders had them both for the end of the 2006/07 season. They made the playoffs, but fell to the Buffalo Sabres in the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Fast forward to yesterday, when two of their most prized possessions fell into ennemy hands, as Blake signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team "committed to winning", and Smyth signed with the Colorado Avalanche, leaving the 1st line left winger position on the Islanders' roster wide open. The Islanders lost much more than 2 players, but a great leader, ready to do anything to win, and a gritty and selfish, but in a good way, forward with a desire to do whatever it takes. They also lost 30-year old defenceman Tom Poti, one of the best offensive defencemen in the league last season, and big center Viktor Kozlov to the Washington Capitals. These losses leave their top 2 offensive lines heavily depleated.

Winners:

1)NYR: Adding Chris Drury and Scott Gomez was a fantastic job by Rangers' GM Glenn Sather. Nobody expected that a single team would add them both, but the Rangers did. These 2 major acquisitions turn the Rangers into an immediate cup contender, with one of the best offenses in the NHL.

2)COL: When Joe Sakic re-signed in April, who knew the Avalanche would be adding Ryan Smyth at the same time, as the 19-year NHL veteran played a major part in bringing the Banff, Alberta native to Colorado. Sakic must of also played a part in bringing Canadian defenceman Scott Hannan to the Avalache. With these additions, the Colorado Avalanche have a better defensive and offensive team, filled with plenty of grit and body presence. The Avalanche is officially back as one of the top power houses in the West.

Top 10 UFAs

Here are the NHL's top 10 remaining unrestricted free-agents:

10) D Brad Stuart
9) RW Dainius Zubrus
8) LW Slava Kozlov
7) LW Paul Kariya
6) D Roman Hamrlik
5) LW Brendan Shanahan
4) D Tom Preissing
3) G Dominik Hasek
2) D Sheldon Souray
1) LW Ryan Smyth