ASSESSING THE "D" BEFORE JULY 1st

So we've learned quite a bit today on how your Montreal Canadiens defense is shaping up before the free agency frenzy that starts on July 1st.

We know that James Wisniewski is not signing in Montreal after being shipped off to Columbus earlier this afternoon for a 7th round pick (to be upgraded to a 5th round pick should the Blue Jackets succeed in signing him).  We also know that Roman Hamrlik has refused to accept the 1 year deal that Pierre Gauthier offered him.  According to Petr Svoboda, Hamrlik's agent, the dollar amount was decent but the term was not with Hamrlik looking for a 2 to 3 year deal.

Finally, a news release from the Canadiens indicating that Yannick Weber had agreed to a 2 year deal that would pay him $1.7M over the term of the contract.  A cap hit of 850K is reasonable and well-deserved for Weber who continues to develop and showed glimpses of really solid play in the postseason last year.

Although there is a still a slight possibility that Hamrlik could potentially re-sign with the Habs, I would consider that possibility remote.  Considering the lack of free agents this year, I have little doubt that Roman will get his 2 year deal from another team and I don't blame him for going after it.  This is most likely his final NHL contract and he should maximize his earnings before he retires or goes the way of the KHL.  He provided the Habs organization with solid and effective play over his 4 years with the club and was handsomely rewarded for his efforts.

THE CASE FOR ROMAN HAMRLIK

Let me preface this article by saying that my first option if I were Pierre Gauthier would be to re-sign James Wisniewski.  I would be more than willing to give him a 5 year deal paying $5 to $5.5M per year with one stipulation, I wouldn't offer him a no-trade clause.  And if it was absolutely necessary, then I would offer a limited no-trade, one where he can specify a maximum of up to 5 or 6 teams where he would not to be traded to.

I truly believe that having Wiz in your bottom pairing would sufficiently shield him from any minor defensive woes that he may have; yet it would allow for the Habs to have his offensive capabilities available to them on the power-play and whenever they would be trailing in a game.  Wiz would also be the ideal insurance policy on Andrei Markov being healthy.  If Markov were to re-injure his knee, you could then start to think about LTIR for Markov and an eventual trade or buyout of his contract.  Point is, you would have Wisniewski, a capable substitute, under contract and ready to go.  Should Markov show that he has in fact recovered and become his dominant self once again, you could then use Wiz as trade bait at the trade deadline to get that missing piece (whatever it may be at the time).  At worst, you should be able to trade Wiz during the off-season next year and open up enough cap space for the re-signing on Price, Subban and a top 6 forward.

What we don't know is whether or not Gauthier has already attempted all of the above or more only to be rebuffed by Wiz having decided that he would like to test free agency come July 1st.  What we do know is that Gauthier has offered Roman Hamrlik a 1-year deal to re-sign with the Montreal Canadiens and it has been suggested that Roman will make his decision today.  Although Hamrlik would not be my first choice, I have come to conclude that signing Roman Hamrlik would not be such a terrible backup plan.