For the better part of the decade, the Montreal Canadiens have lacked a big-body presence up front that can wreak havoc in front of the opponent's net and can also bury scoring opportunities. This has become a well known fact that opposing teams have often taken advantage of, especially in the postseason.
On July 1, Canada Day to some, Canadiens' general manager Pierre Gauthier went out and addressed his team's longstanding lack of size up front by signing left winger Erik Cole to a 4-year contract worth $18 million.
Cole, 32, weighs in at 205 lbs. and stands relatively tall at 6' 2". Compared to the rest of the Habs' top six forwards, Cole is the only one who measures more than six feet and weighs more than 200 pounds after the enigmatic Belorussian winger Andrei Kostitsyn.
However, unlike Kostitsyn, Cole can play solid two-way hockey consistently and can kill off penalties, all while putting up solid offensive numbers (as evidenced by his 26 goals last season).
Factoring in Cole, Montreal's offense is vastly improved, giving them some size to compete with rivals such as Boston and Philadelphia, teams that have overpowered the Canad ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Felix Sicard
Montreal Canadiens Cash in on Free Agency with Erik Cole Signing
July 2nd, 2011 by Felix Sicard Leave a reply »
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