HabsWorld.net --
A day after re-signing Petteri Nokelainen, GM Marc Bergevin continued to lock
up the returning players, signing Travis Moen to a four year, $7.4 million
contract. Moen was widely thought to be the most coveted of Montreal’s
impending unrestricted free agents due to his leadership, his physical style of
play, and his above average defensive abilities.
2011-12 got off to a strong start for the 30 year old winger as he was on
pace to surpass his career highs in all offensive categories before being felled
by an upper-body injury that saw him play his final game of the year in early
February. Moen did note that he would have been ready to play had the Habs
been in the playoffs and that he has been training for nearly two months now.
He finished the season with 16 points in 48 games, equalling his point total
from the previous year despite playing in 31 fewer games.
Moen joined the club as part of the UFA spending frenzy of 2009. In
three years with Montreal, he has played in 234 games with the club (including
the playoffs), tallying 55 points to go with 200 PIMS and a -10 rating. In
his first two seasons with the Canadiens, he finished second on the club in hits
while he has been in the top-3 in shorthanded time on ice per game (for
forwards) in each season.
The contract contains a partial no-trade for the first two years of the deal
and then no trade restrictions afterwards. Assuming the team signs their
remaining restricted free agents, they will have 42 out of a possible 50
committed contracts.