The Montreal Canadiens added a pair of new pieces to their system for the 2012 season, signing forward
Erik Cole to a new deal and also adding back-up goalie
Peter Budaj to the fold. Cole signed a 4-year, $19 million deal, making him into a long-term player with the club, while Budaj signed a 2-year, $2.3 million deal to back-up
Carey Price for a couple of seasons.
Cole should be able to bring an immediate impact, along with a little bit more grit, to a Montreal team that is generally smaller than he is. Cole will bring a bit more of a power forward element to the Canadiens squad and he should be good for 25 goals, if not more, with a talented centre to play with, like
Tomas Plekanec or
Scott Gomez. In 2011, Cole had 26 goals and 26 assists in 82 games with the Hurricanes, so his numbers may see a boost with the right amount of ice-time and linemates.
Budaj saw quite a bit of time in the net for the Avalanche in 2011, which helped him to 15 wins, 1 shutout and 1 assist for 33 points, but playing behind a big minute goalie like Price will definitely put a damper on those numbers. Be sure to approach Budaj with caution, if you're looking for a back-up goalie that is going to get you some points for your pool team.
The Canadiens are climbing the ladder of projected annual salary cap spending, now sitting on 18 players (11 forwards, five defense and two goalies), plus a buyout for $55 million. That leaves them only $9.3 million to spend on three to five players, which should be good for depth players.
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