The Montreal Canadiens signed 25 year old defenceman Alexandre Picard to a one-year, two-way deal Saturday. Picard notched four goals and eleven assists last season as he split his time with Carolina and Ottawa .
Picked 85th overall in the 2003 draft by the Philadelphia Flyers – the 6′ 3″ 215 pound blue liner has always managed to put points on the board but the transition on defence from the AHL to the NHL has not been an easy one. The Gatineau, Quebec native will add a Francophone to the dressing room and let’s hope that his improvement in the plus/minus department is a trend and not just an aberration. In 62 games with The Flyers in 2006 – Picard netted twenty-two points but was a dismal -19. In the following 44 games with Philly and Tampa he was a -21. In all fairness to Alexandre , both these teams were struggling at the time defensively so some of these stats may be misleading.In the following two seasons – his plus/minus improved to a + 2 in 155 games with Ottawa and Carolina. Picard should provide insurance for The Habs in case O’ Byrne flounders filling in for the injured Markov.
Defenceman Alex Henry, Captain of The Hamilton Bulldogs , was also signed to a two -year, two-way contract on Friday.In over 68 games with Hamilton last season , Henry had 13 assists and was a + 17 and ranked second on the team with 154 penalty minutes. Over four seasons in the NHL, which has included stints with Edmonton, Washington, Minnesota and Montreal, he has played in 177 games and has two goals and nine assists along with 269 penalty minutes.
Henry was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers 67th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and first signed with Montreal as a free agent on July 3rd, 2008. Henry did not play in the NHL last season. As per club policy – terms of the agreement were not made public for both players.