While many big names will be available, we can remove from this list the Quebec defenseman Kristopher Letang who will remain with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Letang has agreed to a 6-year contract extension at a salary of $6.1 million per year. He was looking for a deal that would pay him about $7-8 million per year. By signing at a discount, his intentions are clear that he wants to finish his career in Pittsburgh.
For Canadiens fans who were hoping to see him wear the team's uniform one day, this is somewhat of a disappointment, as there were rumors that he could have signed a contract with his childhood team to finish his career there.
However, as David St-Jean of Marqueur.com reports, Letang was at the Bell Centre on Thursday night for the draft, and he even announced the Penguins' first-round selection.
Afterwards, he sat down with Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports to talk about his new contract and looked back on his entire career with the Penguins.
Towards the end of the interview, he mentioned that he was surprised to have received a standing ovation from the crowd at the Bell Centre and added that Montreal is an amazing city and that it might be something he would experience one day (possibly as a CH player).
Surprisingly, the Penguins defenseman really seemed to open the door to a possible move to the Habs at the end of his career?
Considering the contract he just signed, it would be surprising, but hey, those are his words.
If the Habs become a competitive Stanley Cup contender in the next 2-3 years and the Penguins are headed downhill, Letang may well be tempted to join his former agent, a certain Kent Hughes, who knows.
Just yesterday, Renaud Lavoie (TVA Sports) repeated it: he really believes that his good friend Kris Letang will play with the Habs one day.
You can watch the clip below.
POLL | ||
Do you still have any hope of seeing Kris Letang in a Habs uniform one day? | ||
Yes | 6 | 26.1 % |
No | 17 | 73.9 % |
List of polls |