#3: July 1, 2009: Mike Cammalleri signs five-year $30 million contract
Mike Cammalleri signed with the Habs in a summer of tremendous turnover. He was coming off a season where he scored 39 goals and 82 points for the Calgary Flames. The Habs needed some scoring with Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Alex Tanguay, Robert Lang and Chris Higgins leaving as free agents.
Cammalleri was solid in his first regular season with the Habs, scoring 26 goals and 50 points in 65 games. He was unbelievable in the postseason, carrying the team’s offence all the way to the Eastern Conference Final as he scored 13 goals and 19 points in 19 games.
The Richmond Hill, Ontario native pretty much replicated that success the following year. He had 19 goals and 47 points in 67 regular season games. Again, that isn’t what he put up in Calgary, but they are decent numbers and they were dwarfed by Cammalleri’s playoff performance.
Though the Habs lost in the opening round, Cammalleri scored three goals and ten points in seven playoff games, again carrying the team’s offence in the postseason. It wasn’t enough to get them past the Boston Bruins who would win the Cup, but it was a tremendous performance.
Cammalleri got off to a slow start in his third season with Montreal, and the team was performing terribly in the standings. He had nine goals and 22 points in 38 games before being traded in the middle of a game. Still, his 29 points in 26 playoff games are the best postseason numbers we have seen from a Montreal Canadiens player in a long, long time.
#2: July 2, 2007: Roman Hamrlik signs four-year $22 million contract
During the 2006-07 season the Habs had difficult decisions to make as they chased a playoff spot. Three of their top defencemen were in the final year of their contracts and headed for unrestricted free agency if they wished. The Habs would trade Craig Rivet, lose Sheldon Souray in free agency and re-sign Andrei Markov.
One player they brought in to replace Rivet and Souray was Roman Hamrlik. He was coming off a season in Calgary where he scored 38 points and played a steadying hand next to a young, free-flowing Dion Phaneuf.
Hamrlik would provide a solid, steady presence on the Habs blue line for four years. He was mostly asked to play second pairing minutes behind Markov, though he was a main cog on the penalty kill and played on the second power play.
He averaged 30 points per season and was a great defensive presence in front of a young Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak who were just entering the league. He played a lot with a young P.K. Subban as well, showing him the ropes and how to be a pro.
Hamrlik’s $5.5 million cap hit seemed a bit high the day he signed, but he lived up to it and was a reliable presence on the back end until he left as a free agent in 2011.