Canadiens get Plekanec, 4 others under contract
Last Updated: Thursday, July 5, 2007 | 5:01 PM ET
CBC Sports
The Montreal Canadiens addressed their offence and blue-line Thursday, signing forward Tomas Plekanec and defencemen Mathieu Biron and Jamie Rivers to new contracts.
Plekanec secured a two-year deal after finishing fourth in team scoring with 47 points (20 goals, 27 assists) in 81 games last season, his second in the NHL. He also topped Montreal with a plus-10 rating.
Tomas Plekanec finished fourth in Canadiens scoring last season with 47 points.
(Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)
"Tomas Plekanec proved to be one of our most consistent players last season," Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey said in a statement. "He established career highs in all categories and his defensive play was extremely efficient.
"He is young, dynamic and we strongly believe he is ready to take on more responsibilities with our club."
Biron and Rivers agreed to one-year contracts.
Biron, 27, was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in return for defenceman Patrick Traverse last December.
He led the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs in scoring last season with 39 points in 77 games between Worcester and Hamilton and posted a plus-16.
Rivers, 32, split last season between the St. Louis Blues and Peoria Rivermen of the AHL.
The Canadiens also signed forward Cory Urquhart, 22, and defenceman Marvin Degon, 24, to one-year contracts.
With files from the Canadian PressShare Tools
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