image: TSN

Bouillon has been with the Montreal Canadiens for most of his NHL career which spans across nine seasons.  I am sure Habs fans will miss him, along with all of the other players the team has discarded this summer.   Bouillon notched up 21 goals and 81 assists in 485 NHL games.

I think he will be a decent addition to the Nashville lineup so I’m excited to see how things go there.  I don’t know if the salary is enough but I guess we’ll see if he can prove himself.

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Gomez didn’t have the greatest season last year (just 58 points) but Bob Gainey seems excited to add him to the roster: "We are extremely pleased to have acquired a player of the caliber of Scott Gomez. He is an outstanding playmaker and an excellent skater. Having won the Stanley Cup twice with the New Jersey Devils, he brings to our team a lot of playoff experience. Scott is an elite player who will certainly contribute to the success of our team for years to come."

The Habs have made all kinds of changes – the team was sold to the Molson brothers, they got a new coach and now they are updating their roster.  As with every team, the goal is to make it to the Stanley Cup finals and, clearly, it’s beneficial to have players on the team who have playoff experience.  Gomez won the Cup twice with the New Jersey Devils but he comes at a hefty price – he’s signed through 2013-2014, at a salary cap hit of more than $7.35-million.  Let’s hope it pays off.

image: TSN

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Some rumored investors include the Caisse de dépôt et placement (in charge of the province’s pension fund), Guy Laliberté (owner of Cirque du Soleil), René Angelil (husband and manager of Céline Dion), Claridge Investment House, media giant Quebecor, Joey Saputo (owner of the Montreal Impact soccer team), Roustan Capital, the Molson family, Spectrum Equity and the Aldo Group.  As if that’s not enough, GM Serge Savard has said that he and a group of partners are interested and prepared to buy the NHL franchise.

I’m not surprised.  Who wouldn’t want to own the Habs?  They are an amazing team, they often make the playoffs, they have a great fanbase and they just celebrated their 100th anniversary!

image: TSN

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In a surprising loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, the Montreal Canadiens suffered a far worse blow – their captain, Saku Koivu, suffered some kind of lower-body injury.  He first left the game early in the second period after tangling with Radek Smolenak but it seemed like everything was okay because he came back 10 minutes later.  Unfortunately, he never stepped on the ice in the third and today he’s going to have some tests to see how serious it is. 

I’m hoping everything turns out okay.  I always feel bad for a team that loses it’s captain.

image: TSN

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Ryan O’Byrne scored on his own empty net during a delayed penalty after Carey Price headed to the bench waiting for the call!  As a result, the game went into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens ended up not only losing their lead but also the game to the New York Islanders. 

Just look at Price coming off the bench looking across the ice.  He must have been so pissed!

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Montreal Canadiens defenceman, Mike Komisarek, suffered a shoulder injury after he tangled with Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins last week.  As a result, he will be off the roster for about a month.  That really sucks.  He’s one of the Habs’ hardest hitters so I’m sure they will miss him.  Here’s a video of the fight:

image: TSN

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Van Ryn was left with multiple injuries after being knocked into the boards during a game on Saturday night. 

Kostopoulos did release a statement: ”First and foremost, I sincerely regret the injuries suffered by Mike Van Ryn.  ‘This is an unfortunate turn of events. I was just trying to get in on the forecheck and get the puck. I didn’t anticipate him turning and couldn’t stop. I was trying to finish my check and obviously it did not end up well. I never intend on injuring another player. I feel bad. I hope he is going to be all right and resume playing as quickly as possible.”

Kostopoulos will forfeit almost US$33,000 in salary and will miss the next three games (against Ottawa, Boston and Philadelphia) but Van Ryn will be out of action for a month.

image credit: TSN

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Kostopoulos got a major penalty for boarding and was thrown out of the game.

"It was a dirty hit," Leafs forward Matt Stajan told reporters following the game.  "It’s something that can’t happen in the game. Luckily, we made them pay."

Missed it or want to see it again?  Watch it and you be the judge:

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