Offseason Roundup: Montreal Canadiens

Over the next month, theScore's NHL editors will review all the offseason moves for each team around the league.

The Montreal Canadiens made their way to the Eastern Conference final last season after being eliminated in the opening round the year prior. Unfortunately for the Habs, goaltender Carey Price's season came to an abrupt end after he suffered a knee injury in Game 1 against the New York Rangers - curtailing the team's chances of advancing to the Stanley Cup final. 

With a healthy Price and several new faces in the newly renovated Bell Centre locker room, Montreal is preparing for another extended postseason push.

Offseason

General manager Marc Bergevin had a busy summer, and not only because defenseman Andrei Markov, was once again looking for a new contract.

The Canadiens signed five players to contract extensions in the offseason: P.K. Subban (eight years, $72 million), Markov (three years, $17.25 million), Lars Eller (four years, $14 million), Mike Weaver (one year, $1.75 million) and Dale Weise (two years, $2.05 million).

With those core players locked up, the Canadiens opted to honor defenseman Josh Gorges' trade request by dealing him to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2016 second-round draft pick. Danny Briere was also moved, to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for P-A Parenteau. 

The Canadiens secured a 2015 fifth-round pick by sending Louis Leblanc to the Anaheim Ducks.

Free agency was kind to the Canadiens, as they landed the most sought-after European player on the open market in Jiri Sekac of the Czech Republic. Sekac was reportedly offered a contract by more than a dozen teams, and chose to sign a two-year, $2.7-million deal with Montreal in July.

Defenseman Tom Gilbert, inked to a two-year, $5.6-million deal, will add some toughness to the Canadiens' lineup, while the club also added veteran Manny Malhotra for a vacant center spot. 

Montreal nabbed promising Russian winger Nikita Scherbak from the WHL's Saskatoon Blades with the 26th overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Key Additions

Jiri Sekac
P-A Parenteau

Key Departures

Josh Gorges
Danny Briere
Brian Gionta
Thomas Vanek

2014-15 Outlook

Montreal's playoff run fell just short, leaving the club's devoted fans hungrier than ever for another crack at the Cup this season. With Subban and Eller locked up, and the additions of Sekac and Parenteau, the Canadiens are poised to go deep in the postseason once again.