Friday was a busy day for the Habs, but not for
the reason that many would have guessed earlier in the week. In the
afternoon, it was revealed that the Habs had acquired exclusive permission to
speak with Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin, and that a deal has been completed
in principle to transfer his rights if a contract can be reached.
Nighttime saw the Habs pick up Alex Tanguay from Calgary in a multi-pick swap.
The 28 year old Tanguay was acquired for Montreal’s 1st rounder this year (25th
overall) and their 2nd rounder in 2009. The Habs also secured Calgary’s
5th rounder (138th overall) in the trade. Last year, Tanguay had 18 goals
and 40 assists in 78 games for the Flames. In 609 career games with
Calgary and Colorado, he has 539 points (177 goals, 362 assists). He has
one year remaining on his contract for $5.375 million (cap hit of $5.25
million), before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, but Canadiens GM Bob
Gainey has already indicated that he would like to sign him to an extension.
Tanguay, who the Habs had tried to acquire in the past, was excited about the
deal. "I couldn’t be happier about coming to Montreal. With my
no-trade clause I could have said no, but I really want to play for the
Canadiens."
As for Sundin, Gainey had this update last night: “I got to speak to Mats
late last night. We didn’t talk for very long. I would qualify it as an
introduction, on both sides. I let him know that we believe he would be good fit
for our team and that we would now have the time to get to know each other even
better over the next couple of days.” Gainey also noted that no offer nor
contract talks have been made at this time. It is being reported that
before his rights went to the Habs, Toronto made the 37 year old Swede a 1 year,
$7 million offer with a no-movement clause.
Keep checking HabsWorld for the latest on this situation, plus continuing draft
coverage.