Since acquiring Alex Tanguay at the NHL entry draft back on June 20, Bob Gainey has been doing what he’s pretty much always done as the Habs’ general manager; he’s sitting tight.

Briere vs. Sundin

It was just a year ago when the Canadiens failed to lure free agent Daniel Briere to La Belle Province, and it appears as though Gainey is on the verge of swinging and missing for a second straight off-season with the likelihood of signing free agent center Mats Sundin getting slimmer and slimmer with each passing day.

But there’s a difference between trying to sign Briere last summer and trying to sign Sundin this summer. You see, Briere didn’t beat around the bush or waste anybody’s time. He immediately jumped aboard with the Philadelphia Flyers, giving Gainey ample notice to go out and work Plan “B”. Upon learning that Briere had signed with the Flyers, Gainey then went out and spent the money he would have used on the highly coveted center, and put it in the pockets of Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Smolinski, Tom Kostopoulos and Patrice Brisebois, instead.

However this time around, unlike the Briere situation, the Canadiens must sit and wait as a 37-year old Sundin contemplates the possibility of retirement or even signing for more money out West.

Does Gainey wait to see what Mats will say? Or does he go out and spend the roughly $15 million he’s offering the Swede on whatever free agents are left on the open market? It’s a tough call.

Out with the old, in with the new

Since the free agent signing period began 4 days ago, the Habs have signed 31 year-old enforcer and Montreal-native Georges Laraque, as well as Laraque’s fellow Montreal-native, 30 year-old goaltender Marc Denis. My thoughts on both of these signs can be summed up in one word, “meh”.

I’ve always been a fan of Laraque and there’s no disputing the physical presence he can bring to the Habs. He’s definitely one of the more impactful tough guys in the league. As for Denis, hopefully he can serve as a solid backup if Carey Price ever goes through a stretch of bad games. Despite the poor numbers he put up last season, I think his unsteady play had less to do with his confidence, and more to do with a lack of support he was getting from head coach John Tortorella, as well as Tampa Bay’s porous defense. This signing could also spell the end for Jaroslav Halak, although I hesitate to say so because Denis only signed on for 1-year. It’s hard to tell what the market value is like for a player of Halak’s calibre. He’s an excellent prospect, but after seeing what Gainey got for Cristobal Huet I’m reluctant to believe the Canadiens can land a serviceable asset who can step in right away.

Meanwhile, the Habs also cut ties with two players who have grown in popularity both in the city of Montreal and across the league over the last couple years, as Michael Ryder and Mark Streit found new homes in Boston and Long Island. The writing was on the wall as far as Michael Ryder was concerned after a disappointing 2007-2008 campaign under head coach Guy Carbonneau. There’s no doubt in my mind that Ryder hasn’t lost his scoring touch, and the fact that he’ll be reunited with former Canadiens bench boss Claude Julienne, and will most likely be playing on a line with Marc Savard, could potentially come back to haunt the Habs. Either way, it was inevitable that Ryder would be on his way out. The loss of Mark Streit, on the other hand, comes as a bit more of a surprise to me. Especially after hearing that Gainey made no attempt to talk to him, much less sign him, this summer. I barely ever question the decisions made by Gainey, but I was a big fan of Streit. Sure, he may have overachieved a little last season, but he was a catalyst on the power-play and was even capable of playing the wing. It will be interesting to see what the team decides to do to fill the void left at the blueline; be it inject a prospect, or trade for or sign a defenseman.

All-in-all it should be an interesting rest of the summer. I’m definitely not holding my breath for Sundin to sign in Montreal, however stranger things have happened. If one thing’s for certain, it’s that Bob Gainey’s demeanour hasn’t changed. He still wants to land that “impact forward”, and he’s still being patient in the process.

The waiting continues…

Allez les Glorieux!!!