This upcoming summer could be a busy one for the Montreal Canadiens.
Andrei Markov, James Wisniewski, Hall Gill and Roman Hamrlik will become unrestricted free agents. Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot will become restricted free agents. With all these players having to negotiate new contracts, Pierre Gauthier will have the option of drastically reshaping the team he acquired from Bob Gainey.
Aside from trying to re-sign some of his more important blue-liners, Gauthier will have the opportunity to try and sign a capable top-six forward.
Assuming that Max Pacioretty will return at full strength next season, the Habs have five players who have shown the ability to excel in a top-six role.
Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta seemed to have been complemented well by the American power forward. Thomas Plekanec has cemented himself as the team’s best forward, while Mike Cammalleri has only been slowed down by injuries in his first two seasons with the Blue Blanc Rouge.
Trying to fill that sixth slot has been quite the ordeal for Gauthier. Pouliot and Kostitsyn have repeatedly failed when given increased responsibilities.< ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mark Della Posta
Montreal Canadiens: Possible UFA Fixes for a Chronic Problem
March 13th, 2011 by Mark Della Posta Leave a reply »
Advertisement