What Size Sweater Mr. Boyd…?

Sometimes you get a two for one deal and you are so excited about one of your choices that the other doesn’t matter.

I’m not sure that the Canadiens are doing cartwheels over the fact that goaltender Dan Ellis signed with Montreal ‘s southern farm team The  Tampa Bay Lightning, yet they must be a tad complacent that Dustin Boyd has signed with the team for a variety of reasons.Yesterday they welcomed the new kid on the block at their state of the art practice facility  in Brossard, Quebec.

Boyd and Ellis were both involved in a gift exchange for resident ‘bad boy’ Sergei Kostistyn. The younger Kostitsyn brother had outworn his welcome in Montreal by doing his best Mikhail Grabovski impersonation and Hab coach Jacques Martin didn’t need the frustration of dealing with a player that needed constant attention. Unfortunately, the Habs were unable to ink Ellis and instead welcomed Alex Auld to the mix.

Boyd was all smiles as he spoke of joining a Montreal team equipped with history and a few of his ‘pals’

“I knew a few guys here already. For sure, you take that into consideration, too,” admitted the 24-year-old, who won gold with Team Canada at the 2006 World Juniors alongside Carey Price, Tom Pyatt and Benoit Pouliot and also teamed up with Michael Cammalleri and Roman Hamrlik with the Flames. “Plus now I get to come back to Canada. I played in Calgary for a few years and I really liked playing there. People definitely know their hockey up here.”

The former Moose Jaw Warrior and 98th pick overall by the Calgary Flames in 2004 will add size up front to the Habs squad. At 6’0″ and 187 pounds, this 24 year old doesn’t shy away from the physical play and has the capability of having a forty plus point season in a Montreal uniform. He has managed 62 points in 210 Nhl Games with Calgary and Nashville with an even 31 goals and 31 assists.In his final season with Moose Jaw – Dustin scored 48 goals in 64 games with The Warriors and fans of Les Habitants hope that his offensive abilities return in a Hab uniform.

“From the second I was traded a day-and-a-half before free agency opened, I was already thinking about the Canadiens,” confessed Boyd. “I said at the time that this was a great opportunity I had in front of me. To have the chance to be part of an ‘Original Six’ team with this much history, it’s tough to say no to that.”

The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba will be wearing number 17 for the Habs – a sweater previously worn by Georges Laraque and Murray Wilson. Let’s hope that Boyd can combine the offensive skills of the latter and the toughness of the  former as he joins his ‘old and new’ pals in Montreal.