On top of signing Manny Malhotra, Tom Gilbert, Jiri Sekac, and trading Josh
Gorges, the Habs had time to re-sign Mike Weaver before the first hour of free
agency had elapsed. The 36 year old blueliner gets a one year, $1.75 M
contract. Montreal also announced the signing of prospect Jeremy Gregoire
to a three year, entry level contract.
Weaver joined the Canadiens just prior to the trade deadline last season in
exchange for the Habs’ 5th round pick in 2015. While he was largely
thought of as a depth acquisition, he wound up playing an important role for
Montreal, not only down the stretch but in the playoffs as well. As a
right hand shot, he now gives Montreal three right shooting defencemen for the
first time in quite some time, joining incumbent P.K. Subban and newcomer Tom
Gilbert.
In 72 regular season games split between Florida and the Habs last year,
Weaver recorded a goal and twelve assists with 31 PIMS and an even +/- rating;
seven of those points came in 17 games with Montreal. In the playoffs, he
added four points in 17 contests.
The important stats with Weaver though aren’t the offensive numbers.
Like the recently-traded Gorges, his role primarily is to block shots and kill
penalties. Weaver had 127 blocks during the regular season to go along
with 121 hits. In the postseason, his hit total dropped to one per game on
average but his blocks per game jumped to almost three a night while averaging
15:33 in ice time.
The Canadiens also announced the signing of prospect Jeremy Gregoire to a
three year entry level contract. The Habs’ 6th round pick in 2013 had a
strong season with Baie-Comeau, scoring 35 goals (team high) and 34 assists in
65 games with an impressive +25 rating. He continued to impress in the
playoffs, recording a team high 23 points (9 goals, 14 assists) in 22 games.
Gregoire will turn 19 in September, meaning he won’t be eligible to play in
the AHL this season (at least until his QMJHL team is eliminated from the
playoffs). This means that barring him making the NHL team, his contract
will slide and actually commence in 2015-16. Gregoire is, however,
eligible to play at the World Juniors and was invited to Team Canada’s summer
camp.
Weaver’s Stats
Gregoire’s Stats