1) Vincent Lecavalier's inevitable decision to play with the Philadelphia Flyers helped confirm what we've long known about this era of professional sport; romance is dead.
Coming home to Montreal weighed heavily, right until the bitter end. Lecavalier elected to avoid the pitfalls of heroism, and if he had any thoughts of seriously facing them, they were all but erased by a lucrative contract extension to the tune of 22.5 million dollars over five years-- with a guarantee from the Flyers that he will not be moved throughout the term of his contract.
Canadiens fans are somewhere between rejoicing their general manager's prudence and despising Lecavalier for proving them right in their skepticism over his willingness to tackle the burden of pressure Montreal would've served him.
Lecavalier's agent, Kent Hughes, claims several meetings with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin were spent trying to figure out a way for this to work, but surmised that they just couldn't find one.
Once the decision to avoid Montreal was firm, the decision to join Philadelphia was made immediately.
No, Lecavalier wasn't about to settle into a like-situation that Dallas afforded--one that wouldn't have altered his fabulous Tampa Bay lifestyle at all. He did choose a vibrant hockey market. He'll set forth on his quest to redeem his name under the bright lights of Philly, where the press and the fans can be just as ruthless as those in Montreal.
But Lecavalier won't face the scrutiny of being the French Canadian answer to Montreal's more than a decade-long search for a sizable centre. The romance of it wasn't as appealing as the cash, the years of security and the guarantee that he won't be moved from Philadelphia.
Or maybe it was the high taxes, or the political situation in Quebec...
2) Three discussions we'll all be happy to move on from:
a) Vinny to Montreal.
b) Will Luongo get traded?
c) Glendale City Council.
3) Yes, the Coyotes are staying put, at least for the next five years, as the Glendale City Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the deal proposed by the Renaissance-Global Spectrum consortium by a whopping score of four votes to three.
Seattle's bid for an NHL team will wait for expansion.
Quebec City, get behind Seattle.
Gary Bettman's smiling face at the council meeting... hooray for the Arizona Coyotes!
4) There are teams circling Daniel Briere at the moment, and whether you want to hear it or not, ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun has reported that the Canadiens are among them.
It's a unique situation for Briere. After seeing things play out the way they did with Lecavalier, he's probably looking at a chance to cash out pretty big on the market.
I can't imagine a team giving Briere the same term Philadelphia happily offered Lecavalier. I struggle to see a team willing to go more than three years on a deal with him. But, if free agency has taught us anything...
And of the notion he'd join the Canadiens for a negligible salary, for two years or less (which is virtually the only way Habs fans would accept his addition to the team) please try to remember, romance is dead.
5) Some teams that will definitely be interested in Briere, teams potentially willing to overpay: Dallas and Washington.
Side note: Jim Nill is the man in charge, but to think that Bob Gainey might miss out on Lecavalier and Briere in the same summer is... I don't even have a word for it.
6) A lot of people are debating--moreover--abjectly criticizing the Flyers decision to give Lecavalier this deal. I've learned one thing about Paul Holmgren:
Don't judge any single deal he makes, because he's bound to make at least a few more before announcing that he's done.
Painfully obvious is the need for Philadelphia to add to their blueline and find a starting goalie to take the job out of Steve Mason's shaky hands.
Problem: No money.
The process to fix up the blueline will begin with trading Braydon Coburn out of town. There's not much Edmonton--considered to be the frontrunner for Coburn's services--can offer Philadelphia in the way of capable defenders ready to make an immediate impact.
Where the Flyers might find such players is incredibly hard to decipher. Currently, the defensive crop of UFAs-to-be is so slim, Andrew Ference has to be considered the best available option.
I'm sure we'll hear about Ference talking to the Flyers over the next couple of days as UFAs are now permitted to be courted by their suitors (no romantic intonation intended).
7) How about Edmonton trades for Coburn then signs Ference? Ference is certainly familiar with Alberta...
8) There was
a great piece by the Gazette's Brenda Branswell, who caught up with Mike McCarron's coach with the US Development Program, Don Granato.
Granato says McCarron will be a top six forward in the NHL, and lauds his skating improvement as well as his physicality.
9) Did Danny Kristo seal his fate with the Canadiens with all the off-ice commotion he caused over the last couple of years?
You can't think of a single other reason the Canadiens would flip him for Christian Thomas of the New York Rangers, even if Marc Bergevin claims the attraction to Thomas' offensive success in his AHL rookie season (19 goals, 16 assists in 73 games with the Connecticut Whale) was too much to pass up on.
Christian is Steve "Stumpy" Thomas' son, and he played in his first NHL game right here, in Montreal, at the Bell Centre in February of last season. Thomas recorded two shots on net in 12:46 of ice-time as his father watched nervously from the pressbox.
10) With Bryan Bickell off the market-- at a bargain, no less--the Canadiens and several other teams will focus on the complete players unrestricted free agency will offer.
David Clarkson's an assured pass for the Habs... The former New Jersey Devil is going to cash out huge.
Ryane Clowe's a question at this point. Was his season-long decline a clear indication that his best years are behind him? Is he too injury-riddled to take a chance on?
Matt Cooke's available (don't all puke at once...).
You know my take on it by now... Hendricks would be a great option for the Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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