Montreal Canadiens retain defenseman Yannick Weber with two-year deal –NHL offseason Update
In one of the two moves on Wednesday, Montreal Canadiens continued the retaining process as it signed defenseman, Yannick Weber, to a two-year contract, of which the terms and conditions were not disclosed, but is believed to be worth $1.7 million.
The second step was in which Montreal released the negotiating rights of defenseman, James Wisniewski, to Columbus Blue Jackets for a condition seventh-round pick.
Both decisions came after re-signing Andrei Markov which had the two finalists up for grabs and elimination, the decision which was then made internally.
"Yannick has acquired valuable experience at the NHL level this past season playing a total of 44 regular season and playoff games. He is a young player who has gained confidence and progressed steadily since being selected by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007",
said Canadiens' general manager, Pierre Gauthier.
In the previous regular season, Yannick Weber posted 11 points, 1 goal and 10 assists, which was a career high for him , since Montreal had been only calling him up from its farm club, Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the prior two
seasons in which he had played only eight games in total.
Yannic was drafted in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft as the 73rd overall pick in round-three by Montreal and has remained with the franchise ever since.
The 22-year-old also had an opportunity to participate in this year’s playoffs which he took advantage of and made a big impression by scoring two goals in three games.
A native of Morges, Switzerland, Yannick started playing hockey with Swiss junior leagues until joining Montreal during the 2008-2009 season of the NHL.
He also played for the Swiss national team during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
Since Montreal made a strong run during the previous season, retaining the top defenseman who can perform for the team the next season is the top priority and it has done it.
Canadiens has a strong line-up, but there is only a shortage of leadership that is required to guide the Canadian franchise to success in the long run.
Creating a strong line-up is in Montreal’s best interest, and scavenging in the free agency on Friday would not be a surprise.
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