Your Canadiens for January 2, 2012

A busy off-day for the Habs in Brossard this morning. Here are your top stories:

- A day after signing his 6 year contract extension, Habs Josh Gorges had to play intermediary at practice this morning has tempers flared up. After Mike Cammalleri exchanged some unfriendly words with P.K. Subban, Subban and Tomas Plekanec swapped a few shoves, nearly coming to blows. Gorges got in the middle and broke things up, and as always when this sort of thing occurs, their teammates laughed it off after practice, explaining that everyone wants to win and this sort of thing occurs when a team is struggling. It's not the first time, however, that things have gotten heated between Subban and Cammalleri/Plekanec. It may simply be a case of Subban's #AlwaysOn personality/intensity and constant chirping being tolerable when the team is hot, but unbearable when things aren't going as well.

- Pierre Gauthier addressed the media today for his annual mid-season report. Some key highlights were the repetition that Andrei Markov won't be back before the All-Star break, that Gauthier hasn't given up on the season and will explore all options to improve performance on the ice, that he apologizes for offending some by naming a unilingual Anglophone as the interim Canadiens' head coach, and that Brian Gionta will return to the line-up before Scott Gomez. Some quotes from Mr. Gauthier:

On Josh Gorges: "We're happy he accepted our offer, and thanks to him. It was an extension of discussions we had this summer, but we wanted to wait to see how his knee would hold up. His case was different than Andrei Markov's, given that he was an RFA whereas Markov was a UFA, and Mr. Gorges needed multiple parts of his knee repaired vs. Markov's problem being a single ligament."

On other UFA/RFA: "Each case is different and evaluated over the course of the season. We have no rules about when we can speak to any of our own players. We have every intention of keeping Carey Price and P.K. Subban with the team for a long time."

On Andrei Markov's health: "He is doing well and his rehab is progressing. I wouldn't expect him to play before the All-Star break. His procedure in December was just an arthroscopic surgery to clean up debris from a previous surgery and remove some scar tissue."

On Randy Cunneyworth and the language issue: "I'm sorry for offending anyone by naming a unilingual interim head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. For the coach to be able to speak French is something that is important to us, but we felt we needed to make the best move and that we had the best candidate within the organization. As Geoff Molson said, language will be a strong consideration for us when we hire a permanent head coach at season's end (whether that means Mr. Cunneyworth taking French lessons or hiring a French-speaker). We handed Mr. Cunneyworth a very difficult schedule. We hoped for better results, but we are seeing changes in the way the team competes on-ice."

On the balance of the 2011-12 season: "Our objective is to start winning and to play better hockey. 11 of our next 15 games are at home, so we hope to use this stand to turn the direction of our season around. Our fans deserve better. Our team needs to find solutions to reward the great support and dedication of our fans. We always have to be trying to improve on every level, whether it's conditioning, prospect development, through trades, or anything else. Everyone has to look in the mirror: players, coaches, and administration. We're all motivated by daily competition and focus on what we can control."

On why the team is where it is: "You have to look at injuries in a certain way. Because of the players out of the line-up, we're playing well below the salary cap, in the bottom 10 teams in the league. But still, 6 of those 10 teams are in playoff positions, so we can't blame it only on injuries. There are other problems. Every game, we're missing key veterans, but we also have veterans playing who aren't performing well. There is a trickle down effect. Too much is being asked of young players. We can't put them in this situation where they're depended on to pick up the slack. It leads to individual breakdowns."

On solutions to the current situation: "3 main areas. One is that we need reinforcement now, which could be from injured players returning to the line-up. Two is that we need improvement in our play as a team. Everybody needs to be all-in. It's a team game and we have to find a certain cohesion to play effective hockey. And third is that, as coaches and managers, we need to do our share. We'll explore all avenues to improve."

On the big contracts and salary cap moving forward: "Cap constraints are things you manage in the off-season. Everything is planned. We'll have the resources available to keep good young players. Having good players signed for several years is a good thing."

That was the gist of it. Biggest concern to me? It focused mainly on what the team can do to fix things and win now, with no mentions of building for the future. We just need to hope that whatever band-aid deal the team looks at to improve the situation, it doesn't involve taking on lengthy contracts and won't require the trading of top prospects or draft picks.

- After taking a puck to the face against Team USA, Habs prospect Nathan Beaulieu was at practice with Team Canada today. The defenseman will wear a full face shield.

- A report indicates that the Montreal Canadiens lead the NHL in ticket revenues per game.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/article/1109400--for-nhl-the-cash-is-in-canada?bn=1

That, combined with the high percentages of salaries being paid by insurance this season, means the Molson family should be making a pretty penny, playoffs or not.

Habs Sign Josh Gorges to 6-year Extension

The Montreal Canadiens today announced the signing of defenseman Josh Gorges to a 6-year contract extension. The deal will pay him an average of $3.9M per season.

Gorges, 27, could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. General Manager Pierre Gauthier wasted no time getting this deal done, making the announcement on the first day it was possible to do so (January 1st). This is a great move to lock in an important part of the team's future. The team must make decisions on other UFAs Andrei Kostitsyn, Hal Gill, and Travis Moen in the coming months. Two important RFA dockets are on Gauthier's table as well, with Carey Price and P.K. Subban's contracts ending after the season.

The Habs chose to play it "safe" with Gorges last summer, offering him only a one-year deal as he was returning from major knee surgery. Certainly, the team could have signed him for less had they offered him a multi-year contract back then (perhaps in the neighborhood of $3M-$3.25M). But he has been the team's top blueliner since game one this year and is a valuable leader in the dressing room, earning him this long-term extension.

Gorges was never drafted, but signed as a free agent with the San Jose Sharks. The Habs acquired him during the 2006-07 season along with a first round draft pick that turned into Max Pacioretty in return for defenseman Craig Rivet.

One big positive to the signing is it puts to rest a concern that I and others share, being that the team's struggles this season might discourage the core players the team MUST hold on to from staying in Montreal. With Gorges staying long-term, hopefully the likes of Price, Subban, and Pacioretty won't get too discouraged the media pressures and on and off-ice issues currently plaguing the organization.

Gorges is primarily a defensive defenseman, but with 10 points in 39 games this season, he is on pace to finish near his career high of 23, set with Montreal in 2008-09. For a defense-first player, some Habs fans may find the $3.9M number high, but if you look around the league, it's actually pretty solid value for the Canadiens. Some comparables:

Brayden Coburn, Philadelphia, 4 years, $4.5M per year

Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay, 5 years, $4M per year

Nick Schultz, Minnesota, 6 years, $3.5M per year (signed in 2008)

Cory Sarich, Calgary, 5 years, $3.6M per year (signed in 2007)

Habs MVP: Josh Gorges

At season's end, whether or not the Montreal Canadiens make the playoffs is likely to depend most on Carey Price. To get there, certainly, they'll need offensive contributions from the likes of Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta, and strong two-way play from Tomas Plekanec. They'll also probably need a healthy Andrei Markov (sooner rather than later) to bolster the D and fix the powerplay. And definitely the size of Erik Cole and Max Pacioretty has brought the club an offensive element it has lacked for years.

But for my money, thus far this season, the Habs' MVP is none other than Josh Gorges.

Of course I don't say this only as a reactionary statement to his powerplay goal last night, ensuring a win in a game where a loss meant falling into another prolonged slump. Sure, that helped, but on a team whose biggest weakness is inexperience and softness on the back end, and with sophomore P.K. Subban having more downs than ups thus far, Gorges has been the team's top blueliner.

Gorges, a simple defensive d-man whose career high is just 23 points, has a goal and 6 assists through 15 games, good enough to rank 8th on the Canadiens and tops amongst his fellow rearguards. Since he doesn't get a powerplay shift, all of his points have come at even strength, ranking him 5th on the Habs for points at 5-on-5 and, perhaps more impressive, tying him for 6th league-wide amongst defenseman in this category.

But it's more than just the offense. In returning from a significant injury, Gorges has played with tenacity, provided leadership to his young teammates, and been the same determined, hard-working d-man that got him to the big league in the first place. His +7 rating is the best on the team, and he ranks third in ice time at 21:06 per game, behind only Subban and Plekanec. He is able to eat up difficult minutes to protect younger players like Yannick Weber, Raphael Diaz, and Alexei Emelin, each of which has struggled at times in their own end.

It will be interesting to see how the Canadiens shuffle the pairings when Andrei Markov returns to the line-up. Gorges has spent much of the past few seasons playing on the right side, paired with Markov or Hal Gill. But his successes this year have come on a more natural left side, paired with Subban. Assuming that after a couple of games, Markov will be looked upon to play over 20 minutes a night, he will need a partner who can do likewise, indicating he is likely to play with either Subban or Gorges. Presumably the other of the two would then be paired with Gill (seeing as both have had success with him in the past), meaning that either way, Gorges would find himself back on the right. Hopefully this won't impact his strong start, and given that it is still a familiar situation for him, it really shouldn't.

The "trouble" then will come at year's end, given that Gorges's current one-year deal, paying him just $2.5M, would make him an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2012. At this point, re-signing him appears to be a non-negotiable (no pun intended) must, and a big pay day for the 27-year old should be upcoming. Many fans urged not to worry, claiming that the lack of offense in his game meant his raise couldn't be all that significant. But his camp is sure to be looking favourably at the contract Braydon Coburn just signed with the Philadelphia Flyers; a 4-year extension worth $4.5M a season. Braydon's numbers aren't all that much better than Josh's, with consecutive seasons under 20 points (though his career high is 36). They are roughly the same age, though at 6'5" and 220 lbs, Coburn's size is clearly an edge. Coburn averages a little more ice time than Gorges at 21:27 a game this year, but that ranks him third amongst Philly Ds whereas Gorges is #2 in Montreal (though that may change with Markov's return and depending on Subban's play). Should Coburn make more than Gorges? Yes, I would say so, but not by all that much. If Coburn gets $4.5M, it becomes easy to justify a $4M deal for Captain Kelowna.

With an influx of young prospect d-men in the coming seasons, Pierre Gauthier (and/or his eventual replacement) will have to make many decisions, but this summer, letting go of such an important cog as Gorges couldn't be the right one. He'll have to get creative, given that Carey Price also needs a big raise, Subban needs at least a medium-sized one, and the summer after will be Max Pacioretty's turn to cash in. But Gorges looks every bit like a future contender for the captaincy, so hopefully we'll be able to rest easy that he'll stay in Montreal for the long haul.

Where We Stand - Habs Rumour Update

There has been lots of talk of late about what Pierre Gauthier is up to, which players are still available, and what may or may not happen. Is Gauthier "done"? What does it mean to be "done" anyway? Even if Gauthier is happy with his team, he will never stop looking to improve it, so at no point will he just give up and be "done."

Today, we look at some discussion of the past week+ to try to see what really is going on.

1) Trade Rumours with the Washington Capitals

With the Capitals in a precarious salary cap situation, it seems apparent they will have to make some kind of move before the season opens. It may be as simple as Tom Poti ending up on LTIR, but if George McPhee wants some breathing room, he will have to do something more significant. Initial rumours a little over a week ago had the club possibly shopping forward Alexander Semin. This would make some sense, since Semin isn't always in the organization's good books and has only one year remaining on his deal before becoming a UFA. Of course, because the Habs name is a major traffic-generator for "rumour sites," Semin was linked to Montreal in a deal that would include Andrei Kostitsyn (also a UFA next summer). First, from the Caps' perspective, while it would work to save a few bucks, the demand would be for the Canadiens to add in a significant prospect or draft pick. Once you've done that, the deal looks utterly unappealing to the Habs: on a non-physical team, lead the guy who led the club in hits, and acquire a similar, more offensively gifted but perhaps even more enigmatic Russian forward coming off his worst season since 2007-08. Not happening.

So, once it seemed like Habs fans were not buying into this, the sites switched targets: now forward Nicklas Backstrom, under contract until the year 2020, was to be moved, with the Canadiens again offering up Kostitsyn as part of a package. Backstrom may have just completed the worst season of his career, but he is still a star player. But hold on a second. The Caps are far from deep in offensive centers, and Backstrom is part of their young core (hence the lengthy deal). Until the day Scott Gomez is dealt, the Habs are NOT in the market for a long-term top 6 pivot, and that won't be until next off-season at the earliest (and no, Washington wouldn't take Gomez back in the deal, since the whole purpose was to save cap room). So even if Backstrom were inexplicably available, there isn't a fit here, especially given the organization's seeming hatred of over-the-top long contracts like the one he has.

If you want to work out a deal with Washington, look at Jeff Schultz as a more realistic potential acquisition. A tough defensive defenseman who is signed for 3 more seasons at $2.75M a year.

2) The Josh Gorges Situation

Habs fans were split over the signing of Josh Gorges last Friday night. While happy a deal got done pre-arbitration, and accepting of the fair salary, concerned over the 1-year term that means he could be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Does this mean he's not in Pierre Gauthier's plans? I don't think so. He has stated he loves playing in Montreal and wants to win a Stanley Cup here, and if the team will have him back, he'll certainly sign at fair market value. Which, for a player like him, shouldn't be more than $1M or more per season than his present deal (worst case scenario) - hardly the end of the world for the club's cap situation, even with P.K. Subban and Carey Price to sign next off-season. But there a strong UFA classes coming up in the next few years (which we'll look at next week), and Gauthier has left himself added flexibility with a short-term contract. Gorges is a great guy on and off the ice, a heart-and-soul leader type who gives his 110% on a nightly basis, and the kind of player you can win with. But his skill set is limited, and it's not to say he couldn't eventually be upgraded to a more complete player. A one year deal lets the team see how he performs after a 7-years-in-the-making major surgery, as well as to assess the progress of guys like Alexei Yemelin, Yannick Weber, and Rafael Diaz and where they fit in the long-term plans.

3) The New York Islanders (and The Salary Cap Floor)

The salary cap floor was set at $48.3M for this season, and as of today, 4 teams are projected to have payrolls below this number. The Nashville Predators are furthest at $7M away, but they still have Shea Weber to sign, so he will eat most of that difference on a long-term deal, and the club will then add a 7th defenseman to make up the rest. The Colorado Avalanche are a little under $3M to the floor, but if newly signed Gabriel Landeskog makes the team with his $3.575M cap hit, the issue is solved. The Phoenix Coyotes are just about $500K away with a full roster under contract, but Mikkel Boedker and Kyle Turris remain unsigned, so once they take the places of lower salaried forwards, there should be no issues.

That leaves the much-talked about New York Islanders, who stand about $6M from the floor, but still need to add 3 forwards and perhaps a third goaltender if there isn't much confidence in Al Montoya. If we assume Nino Niederreiter will make the team, that cuts the requirements in half, which might be filled on RFAs alone like Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau. But if that's still not enough, the team is apparently in talks with Alexei Yashin about an NHL return, and/or may offer a one year deal to Marty Turco who is still looking for work. So NO, the Islanders do NOT need Scott Gomez or Jaroslav Spacek, so STOP DREAMING that they will take one of these burden salaries of Montreal's hands. All times should be cap compliant by opening night without too much more difficulty at this point.

Canadiens sign Josh Gorges to 1 Year Deal

The Montreal Canadiens announced this evening the signing of defenseman Josh Gorges to a 1 year, $2.5M deal.

Pierre Gauthier has now completed all internal dossiers for the coming season, and any further moves would be additional outside acquisitions.

Gorges had filed for arbitration with a hearing scheduled for July 28th. One would have to think with comparables like Marc Methot ($3M) and Roman Polak ($2.75M), an arbitrator might have awarded a little more than Gorges settled for, but given his injury last year, the short term gives him a new opportunity to prove his worth. So good deal money-wise, but the term is a little scary because...

In fact, he will have great leverage next summer, as he may opt to become an unrestricted free agent next July 1st. The Canadiens are not likely to let it come to that, as Gorges has been an important part of the back end, but the team is starting to amass significant organizational depth on the back end for the future, so they will be able to reassess their plans in just under one year's time.

Per Renaud Lavoie, Gauthier opted for a short term due to concerns over Gorges' recovery from surgery and wants to ensure he will be healthy this season before making a longer commitment.

http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=569258&navid=DL|MTL|home

The Habs now have 12 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders under NHL contract for 2011-12, with $5,179,490 in cap space remaining. They will need to add at least one more forward, but may decide to leave it opening for a training camp battle between the likes of Andreas Engqvist and Michael Blunden.

Habs Rumour Update: Stamkos, Gorges, and Grinders

Contrary to the belief of some impatient Habs fans, Pierre Gauthier has not been asleep at the switch the past week. He continues to work on a number of dossiers on a daily basis. That said, if he is to make a move, it must be one that makes sense both for the Montreal Canadiens and the other team or player(s) involved. Let's dissect some of the buzz going around the net.

1) Steven Stamkos

Habs followers were right to be skeptical when internet rumour pundit IncarceratedBob floated a rumour that Stamkos had asked his general manager Steve Yzerman to look at 4 specific teams for a possible trade, one of which was the Canadiens. I've spoken out in defense of IBob in the past, and still prefer his sources to those of Eklund or most internet rumour mongers, but like any good businessman, some times you just gotta build the hype. Stamkos is NOT coming to Montreal.

Why not, you ask? The reasons are many. For starters, why would Yzerman listen to Stamkos's request on where to be dealt. He doesn't have a no trade clause, and if he were to be dealt, there would be interest in his services league-wide, with the Lightning going with the highest bidder. but most importantly, why would Tampa Bay trade him? Even if negotiations are progressing very slowly - which I think we can all agree is the case - they would be stupid not to explore every other avenue before dealing one of the league's premiere young superstars. In Tampa, it's not about fitting under the Salary Cap (they have almost $15M in space), but rather working with a moving target soft cap imposed by management. I'm sure there is some interest out there in Pavel Kubina who has but a year remaining till UFA or retirement, or Ryan Malone who makes what this summer's market would tell you is a reasonable salary for a player of his caliber. All Stevie Y is doing is playing it cool, seeing how things develop, and waiting for the best offer for his team to make everything fall into place.

But let's fantasize, for just a moment, that Yzerman was forced to deal Stamkos. What would Montreal have to offer? Keep in mind that the Lightning want to win NOW, not collect a bunch of draft picks and prospects. Martin St. Louis is 36 and their starting goaltender for next season is 41. Not quite a team that is going to ask for Jarred Tinordi and Danny Kristo. Clearly the request starts (and from Montreal's perspective, ends) with P.K. Subban. You have to give to get, and Stamkos, a young phenom, will require star power in return. You want to keep Subban? Ok, now you're looking at Pacioretty, Cammalleri, their choice of Eller or Desharnais, and Gorges. Yes, all four. And likely a high draft pick or top prospect on top of those guys just to balance it out. Stamkos is a young, scoring center, so you compensate the Lighting with young (Pacioretty + pick/prospect), scoring (Cammalleri), and a center (Desharnais/Eller), while sweetening the pot with a defensive D the team could use. Maybe they toss a salary dump like Brett Clark back your way along with #91. Now there may be some Habs fans who would be ok with this trade. No guarantee that Tampa would take it, but even if they did, it would decimate the Montreal forward core. You're stuck with over $20M committed to three centers, with your starting goaltender and stud d-man needing huge raises next summer. And don't even try to suggest the Lightning would take Gomez back in any such deal. If that were an option, Stamkos would long be signed. Nor will Gauthier make a separate trade to deal Gomez on top of this blockbuster after emphatically stating that he doesn't foresee major change for a team that has been together for such a short period of time as the Canadiens.

2) Josh Gorges

Gorges' arbitration date was set for July 28th, yet I still hear people complaining and worrying daily that a deal is not yet done. The 28th is 2 and a half weeks away. A contract takes only minutes to sign. Get back to me at 4:00 PM on the 27th without a deal completed and then we'd have something to talk about. This file is progressing as we speak and the two sides will work it out with plenty of time to spare.

3) Mike Blunden

Few batted an eye when the Canadiens slyly dumped a prospect with no future in the organization in Ryan Russell for a player who fills a team need. If Gauthier does not add another forward before training camp, Blunden has a very good shot at making this team. A 6'3" winger who in 2005 was considered a hot enough prospect to represent Canada at the World Junior Chapmionship (alongside some names that may seem familiar to you in Tom Pyatt, Benoit Pouliot, Guillaume Latendresse, Dustin Boyd, and Kyle Chipchura), Blunden is no stranger to dropping the gloves at the professional level. If third and fourth line toughness is what's missing, he can fit the bill, even if he drops a majority of his bouts. That never stopped us from loving Tom Kostopoulos, after all. And hey - you never know - there just may be some late-developing offensive upside there as, despite his meager NHL totals, Blunden registered 12 goals and 21 points in 37 AHL matches last season. If the Canadiens have a fully healthy roster on opening night, it is very possible Blunden starts out in the AHL, but don't be surprised to see him dressing for the team at some point.

Player Spotlight: Josh Gorges

Though our previous two Player Spotlights (Berger, Yemelin) looked at Habs prospects, this weekly feature can spotlight anyone in the organization, and the most appropriate member this week is Josh Gorges – a hot topic of conversation recently amongst Montreal Canadiens fans.

Born in Kelowna, B.C., Gorges was fortunate to play his junior hockey for his hometown team, the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. Gorges spent 4 years there, captaining his team to a Memorial Cup Championship in his final season in 2004. The fact that Gorges was a captain in juniors has led to a popular internet meme on hockey discussion board HFBoards which has users reply to poor questions or irrelevant threads by asking “Did you know Josh Gorges was the captain of the Kelowna Rockets?”

At 6’1”, 202 lbs, Gorges doesn’t have a particularly imposing physique, but he makes up for it with sound defensive coverage and strong work ethic. A tremendous penalty killer, Gorges found a home as a partner to Hal Gill in forming a top-notch shutdown pair during the team’s Cinderella 2010 playoff run. Over the course of his time in Montreal, he has also played alongside Andrei Markov, and so one of Markov or Gill will in all likelihood begin 2011-12 on his left side.

On the negative side, #26 has little offensive upside, with a career high of 23 points (though he’ll still be just 27 years old in a month’s time), and has at times been linked with balancing his “work hard” attitude with a “party hard” mentality. Now entering his prime as a blueliner, he’ll need to be disciplined as he matures both on and off the ice to fill out and reach his full potential.

Gorges was acquired in the undisputed best trade Bob Gainey made during his tenure as Habs’ general manager. Just prior to the 2006-07 trade deadline, he dealt an aging Craig Rivet to the San Jose Sharks for Gorges and a first round pick. The Habs used that pick to select Max Pacioretty, so while Rivet was never a true impact player and has long moved on, the two assets Montreal acquired now form young cornerstones of the franchise.

Having just completed a cap friendly 3-year, $3.3M contract, Gorges will be looking to cash in this summer. His raise may have been tempered by an ACL injury that cut his campaign short, but it also gives Habs fans reason to be optimistic, as the fact that he had been playing essentially without an ACL for the last 8 years came to light. This means that the Josh Gorges we see in the Fall will be the healthiest that we have ever seen in a Canadiens’ uniform.

Slight panic spread through Habs nation as Pierre Gauthier cleared one dossier after another with regards to his RFAs this summer, but there remained little news of Gorges’ status. Gorges received a qualifying offer so the Habs would retain his rights, and some media pundits spun the lack of a signing as a “rejection” of the offer. It should be clear this should have been no cause for worry – Gorges qualifying offer of $1.1M is far below the salary expectations of either side, and the Canadiens would like to lock him up well beyond the 1 year term of a Q.O. (if he does sign a 1-year deal, Gorges will be an unrestricted free agent next summer).

News broke earlier this week that Gorges has opted to take the team to player-elected salary arbitration this summer, at a hearing date to-be-determined. The process of arbitration is not a positive for player-team relations, as the player and his agent must hype his play and potential beyond the reality of the situation, while the club does what they can to degrade his worth in their eyes, in hopes the arbitrator will find a middle ground. It is very likely it will never come to that between Gorges and the Canadiens, as the two will continue to negotiate in hoping to reach an agreement beforehand. Similar players are often used as a gauge for determining salary, and comparable defensive d-men for Gorges might be Columbus’s Marc Methot (4 years, $12M, $3M cap hit) or St. Louis’s Roman Polak (5 years, $13.75M, $2.75M cap hit).

Your Canadiens had a chance to chat with Mr. Gorges in the middle of his rehab this winter, and there is no reason to doubt his heart is in Montreal. Beyond his well-publicized friendship with Carey Price, he fits in with general locker room vibe. He indicated, during our brief chat, that he had no doubt he would be 100% by the summer and thus trained and ready to go come the beginning of training camp. Perhaps Josh's best quote on his rehab, courtesy the Montreal Gazette: "I told Marky (also rehabbing from ACL surgery) we’re going to get to know each other real well," said Gorges. "It’s nice to know I have him there. I’ve had lots of talks with him on how he’s dealt with his situation, different scenarios (like how) you can’t walk for a few days, driving, He’s been through it once and he’s going through it again."

Don’t worry, Gorges lovers. He isn’t going anywhere. Josh fills a need that no other player in the organization is near-ready to step into, and his defensive style will be greatly appreciated for many years to come by the glut of offensive-minded rearguards the team continues to draft and sign. If anything, by filing for arbitration, Josh has said, "Hey! I don't want this to drag on and on and jeopardize my training camp. Here's a deadline, let's get down to business, hash it out, and move on!"

Pyatt, Pouliot Not Qualified - Will be UFAs

As we broke on Twitter earlier this afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens did not extend qualifying offers to Benoit Pouliot or Tom Pyatt, meaning they will become unrestricted free agents this Friday (July 1st). This does not stop general manager Pierre Gauthier from offering them contracts at a lesser amount come that day (though you can't get much lower than Pyatt's earnings last year).

While Pouliot at $1,350,000 may not be a bargain, it is never a good day to see an asset completely wasted. Guillaume Latendresse, if healthy this season, will be a contributing member of the Minnesota Wild, while the Habs will have absolutely nothing to show in return. As frustrating as Pouliot's inconsistencies can be, a 24 year old 6'3" winger with 28 goals in 118 games in Montreal is an odd player to simply give up on, but clearly he was no longer in the plans in this city, with the team preferring to retain 34-year old Mathieu Darche at half the price.

Pyatt's lack of offer is a little more surprising given that he made just $500,000 last season. A defensive fourth line forward who can kill penalties effectively, the fact is Pyatt is quite replaceable, and players of his style are not particularly expensive to obtain on the free agent market. It is possible that Pyatt is offered a contract later in the summer, but the good news for Habs fans is this may signify Gauthier looking to replace him with a bigger, more physical body. Certainly, however, this move does little to reassure fans of the Scott Gomez trade 2 years ago, with the cap sore center the last remaining asset the Canadiens got in the deal, while Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko remain with the Rangers.

As predicted, Alexandre Picard also did not receive an offer, and will not be returning to the club next season.

RFAs Josh Gorges, Yannick Weber, and Ryan White received offers, allowing the team to retain their rights and to continue to negotiate new deals.

Playing in Hamilton last year, all of Mathieu Carle, Ryan Russell, Frederic St. Denis, and Kyle Klubertanz also received offers. Klubertanz is already signed in Europe for the upcoming campaign, while it is unclear which of the others may choose to follow suit.

No Update on the Gorges Front

In a report on ESPN, the agent for Habs defenseman Josh Gorges indicated that there have yet to be talks about his client with Pierre Gauthier.

This has led to speculation that Gauthier may be looking to move the 26-year old rearguard over draft weekend, but this is a knee-jerk reaction unlikely to reflect the reality of the situation. While it is true that the cases of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais, and Andrei Kostitsyn were handled quicker, their values were much easier to establish.

Gorges is an interesting case. There is a wide array of comparables available to try to get close to his value, but he's a truly unique player. A defense-first d-man with little offensive upside, Gorges is capable of soaking up significant and difficult minutes both on the penalty kill and at even strength. His price tag could have been significantly higher had he not missed the second half of the season with knee surgery, but as one of the younger men of the D group, the Canadiens must assess what his value will be in the future.

In my opinion, the reason it's a complicated case is because the Habs would like to lock him up long-term. Perhaps something like 4 years for close to $12M. This is far more complex of a negotiation process than, say, having Kostitsyn sign what would have been his qualifying offer.

So have no fear Gorges lovers. Joshy should be here to stay, it just make take a little time. The priority cases at this point become pending UFAs like Andrei Markov, James Wisniewski, and Roman Hamrlik who can walk out the door in a week and a half if nothing has been signed on the dotted line. The timetable for #26 extends right up to training camp in the Fall.