One of Laval’s top forwards will be sticking around as on Thursday, the Habs announced that they’ve re-signed winger Alex Belzile to a one-year, two-way contract extension.

Shea Weber’s thumb injury that he played through during the playoffs wasn’t expected to cost him much time but it appears there are other injuries that will be an issue. Multiple reports came out on Wednesday night suggesting that Weber could miss all of next season due to lingering left foot and ankle issues.

Another day, another contract for someone behind the bench.  On Wednesday, the Canadiens announced that they’ve signed assistant coach Luke Richardson to a three-year deal.  His contract was set to expire later this month.

With the Habs making it to the Stanley Cup Final, it was only a matter of time before the interim title was removed from head coach Dominique Ducharme.  That happened Tuesday with the announcement that the bench boss has signed a three-year deal.

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and that was the case for Montreal’s playoff hopes. While they were able to avoid the sweep, the offence dried up as they were blanked in Game 5, giving the Lightning their second straight Stanley Cup.

After the playoff run that the Habs had, there is a justifiable case to be made to ‘run it back’, bringing as many pieces back that they can afford and trying again next season. But that would come at the expense of progress, meaning GM Marc Bergevin will deftly have to navigate the best of both worlds.

With his contract with Montreal now complete, Joel Bouchard became a free agent this month and has found his new home.  The now-former Laval head coach has been hired by Anaheim to take over as the bench boss for their AHL team in San Diego.

Of the three lineup changes that Dominique Ducharme made on Monday, the one to sit Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the most controversial. However, with the lineup composition they were seeking, it was the right one.