HabsWorld.net -- 

The busy day for the Habs continued on Tuesday as they announced the
re-signing of C Tomas Plekanec to a reported 6 year, $30 M deal.  The 6
year term is the longest contract handed out in the franchise’s 101 year
history.  This comes after officially releasing the 2010-11
schedule and
announcing the

re-signing of F Mathieu Darche. 

In 2009-10, Plekanec had a breakout season after a subpar 2008-09 campaign
where he picked up just 39 points.  The Czech C set career highs in assists
and points last season (25-45-70, ) and also in the playoffs (4-7-11) but did
tail off as the postseason progressed.  Plekanec also represented his
country in the 2010 Olympic Games where he picked up 2 goals and an assist in 5
games.

Plekanec has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last 4 seasons but never
has surpassed the 30-goal plateau.  A pending UFA, he was widely speculated
to be either the best or second best free agent C on the market which drove the
asking price up. 

In other news from today:

– The NHLPA officially extended the CBA to its 7th and final year.  This
means that bonus cushion will come into play once more this season.

– Pending UFA D Marc-Andre Bergeron will undergo knee surgery tomorrow that
will most likely cause him to miss the beginning of next season, meaning that
his days with Montreal are now virtually all but numbered.