Carlos Osorio/The Globe and Mail
Stage 1 in Montreal Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier's cunning off-season plan was to sort out his goalies, which in turn has allowed Stage 2: locking up centre Tomas Plekanec.
Five days after trading netminder Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues, the Habs decided to spend the money they would have had to pony up on the impending restricted free agent - and then some - on Plekanec.
The team's leading point-getter will be in a Canadiens uniform for the next six seasons (his deal includes a no-trade clause), over which time he will trouser a reported $30-million (all currency U.S.).
"Obviously what I always said I meant it, I'm happy to stay in Montreal," Plekanec told reporters from Kladno, Czech Republic.
"It sounds so cliché, but it's true, it's a special place to play."
Plekanec was due a windfall - he could have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1 - and his contract does nothing to simplify the Habs' salary-cap puzzle.
They have roughly $9 million left to sign nine players - including restricted free agent goaltender Carey Price. It might explain why 33-year-old winger Mathieu Darche accepted less money to re-sign for another year (he will make $500,000).
Given those straights, conventional NHL wisdom - as expressed by executives from other franchises - suggested the Habs should have insisted on a sizable hometown discount from Plekanec, especially given some iffy playoff performances.
It wouldn't appear they got much of one, although Plekanec may well have fetched even more on the open market.
"You can speculate if I would be able to get more money. … My decision wasn't about the money, my decision was based on Montreal and on everything I've done in my eight years in Montreal," he said.
The 27-year-old scored 25 goals and 70 points in the 2009-10 regular season but tailed off in the playoffs.
Still, Plekanec's insistence that he has earned everything the Habs have given him has the ring of truth. Last year he signed a one-year, $2.75-million deal following a dismal 2008-09 season, and rebounded with a career season.