Habster:

A great article by Lyle Richardson (Spector) concerning the start of the buyout period (June 15-30) and the potential players who could be looking for employment in the near future.

As far as the Canadiens are concerned, the only buyout candidate would be Mathieu Dandenault who will make $1.75 million in the final year of his contract.

In the new salary cap era of the NHL, there is no room for a $1.75 million fourth liner who works hard but is grossly over paid for the minimum amount of ice/playing time he gets. Bob Gainey is a very classy, loyal and respected general manager but he needs to be move aggressive when dealing with his roster.

Releasing Dandenault wouldn’t necessarily give Gainey a ton of available cash as the Habs would be on the hook for $1.166 million. It would however give players like Kyle Chipchura, Greg Stewart and Matt D’Agostini the opportunity to crack the lineup while saving the Canadiens almost $600,000 on the cap……….some food for thought.