Re-signing Streit tops Habs' to-do list

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They say money can't buy happiness, but Mark Streit will be looking for both as he negotiates a new contract with the Canadiens.
"I love Montreal and I'm hoping to stay here for three, four, five more seasons," the defenceman/forward said yesterday as the Canadiens gathered at the Bell Centre to clean out their lockers and pick up their offseason training regimens.
Streit, 30, is one of four Canadiens regulars who are eligible to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. And he's No. 1 on general manager Bob Gainey's must-do list.

In his third NHL season, Streit set career-highs for goals (13), assists (49) and points (62). Alex Kovalev and Tomas Plekanec were the only Canadiens with more points.
Streit, who can play defence or forward, also served as the point man on the best power play in the NHL and that will make him a valuable commodity on the free-agent market.
"I know I'll get offers, but I'm hoping to stay here," Streit said. "Montreal gave me a chance to play and I'm happy here. Anyone who knows me, knows that the most important thing for me is to be happy." Streit has already proved that money isn't his most important consideration. He earned $600,000 with the Canadiens this season; he could have earned much more with a more favourable tax arrangement if he had remained in his native Switzerland.
Nursing a back injury, Streit won't join his countrymen at the IIHF world championship.
He said he and the Canadiens agreed not to discuss a contract during the season, but the talks should heat up between now and the draft in late June. If he goes on the market, the Canadiens will not only face a monetary competition, but they could also run up against a team that promises to use Streit as a defenceman. That's his preferred position, although he has been more effective in Montreal as a forward.
The other potential unrestricted free agents are forwards Michael Ryder and Bryan Smolinski, and defenceman Patrice Brisebois.
The Canadiens will allow Ryder to seek employment elsewhere. He was a healthy scratch for eight of the 12 playoff games and his regular-season production dipped to 14 goals after back-to-back 30-goal seasons.
Smolinski, who played a key role on the checking line down the stretch and in the playoffs, said he would like to stay with the team. The key is whether the Canadiens feel they can make better use of his $2-million salary.
Brisebois also expressed a desire to stay. He was a relative bargain at $700,000 and he displaced Ryan O'Byrne during the playoffs. But the Canadiens' youth movement dictates that O'Byrne gets a regular spot next season, with Mathieu Carle and Pavel Valentenko also challenging for jobs.
"It was a good introduction for me," said O'Byrne, who was called up from the American Hockey League's Hamilton Bulldogs in midseason.
"I played 35 games and I got some playoff experience, and I'll be better prepared when I get to camp next season." O'Byrne received some general guidelines on training from the team and said he had the usual goal of being "bigger, stronger and faster." He's one of six restricted free agents. The group includes the seldom-used Mikhail Grabovski, who appears headed back to the Russian Elite League, and fellow Belarusian Andrei Kostitsyn.

The latter had a breakthrough season with 26 goals and 53 points, and has to be another of Gainey's priorities. That's because there are persistent rumours that AK Bars Kazan or another Russian team is willing to make him a multimillionaire. Kostitsyn earned $611,800 this season.
phickey@ thegazette.canwest.com
habsinsideout.com



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Re-signing Streit tops Habs' to-do list