Friday has once again turned out to be a busy day of small moves for the
Habs. This afternoon, it was confirmed that Alex Henry signed a 2 year,
two way contract to return as captain of Hamilton Bulldogs, as HW
reported on Wednesday night. C Dominic Moore officially moved on,
signing a 2 year, $2.2 million deal with Tampa Bay. Finally, Louis Leblanc
signed a 3 year entry level deal and will play for Montreal of the QMJHL.
Henry has spent the past two seasons with the organization, primarily playing
for the Bulldogs, save for a 2 game stint in Montreal back in 2008-09 (including
playing in the infamous barberpole jerseys). Last year, he had 13 assists
in 68 regular season games with 154 PIMS. In the postseason, he snapped
his goalless drought, scoring a pair of goals with as many assists and 22 PIMS
in 19 contests. The terms of his contract are not yet known but he will
have to clear waivers to return to the AHL this season.
Moore was acquired from the Panthers just prior to the Olympic break this
season in exchange for Montreal’s 2nd round pick in 2011. (Note that this
is not the
compensatory selection the team will receive for letting David Fischer go.)
He had somewhat of an offensive breakthrough with the Habs as he picked up 11
points (2-9-11) in just 21 regular season games. Though the points dropped
in the playoffs (23-4-1-5), he’ll best be remembered for scoring the series
clinching goal in Round 1 against Washington. Moore will receive $1
million next season and $1.2 million in 2011-12.
Leblanc’s contract comes somewhat as a surprise as he was expected to return
to Harvard for a second season. Instead, he will report to the QMJHL’s
Montreal Junior who acquired his rights this offseason. Leblanc led the
Crimson Tide in all major offensive categories last year, including goals (11),
assists (12), points (23), and surprisingly penalty minutes (50). Though
his 3 year deal begins this year, it is eligible to slide back a year if he
doesn’t play 9 NHL games. (This same treatment applied to the contracts of
Phillipe Lefebvre, Robert Mayer, and newly acquired Ian Schultz).
The signings of Henry and Leblanc take Montreal to 46 committed contracts out
of the league maximum 50, though as noted, Leblanc, as well as Lefebvre, and Alexander Avtsin are all eligible to slide back a year. Carey
Price remains the lone RFA still to sign, so it appears the Habs will not be tap
dancing with the limit as they were last season when they were at the max upon
the acquisition of Jay Leach.