O'Byrne is final piece of CH puzzle
PAT HICKEY, The Gazette
Published: Thursday, July 17, 2008Bob Gainey's summer workload has been reduced to waiting for Mats Sundin to make a decision on his future.
The Canadiens' general manager cleared the last of the outstanding matters on his desk yesterday when he signed defenceman Ryan O'Byrne to a three-year contract.
While the terms of the pact were not revealed, the deal leaves the Canadiens with more than $7 million to pay Sundin if he decides that he wishes to continue his career in Montreal.
O'Byrne was the last restricted free agent to sign with the team, but he said the talks between Gainey and agent Matt Keator went smoothly.
"We made some progress and we had some good talks," said O'Byrne, who is in Montreal as an instructor at the team's summer hockey camp.
"The three-year contract allows me to feel comfortable coming into camp and it shows that the Canadiens have confidence."
O'Byrne, who turns 24 on Saturday, has more confidence in himself after a breakthrough season. He started the season in Hamilton and was called up by the Canadiens on Dec. 6. He played 11 games before he suffered a broken thumb in a fight with Florida's Tanner Glass on Dec. 28. He returned to the lineup on Feb. 12 and established himself as one of the team's top-four defenceman, playing alongside veteran Roman Hamrlik.
Though he is assured of a job, the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder said he will arrive at his third NHL training camp with the right attitude.
"We have a lot of defencemen and I know that I have to compete," the Victoria native said.
O'Byrne played three seasons at Cornell University before turning pro in 2006. He had a baptism by fire in his first pro season, when he helped the Hamilton Bulldogs win the American Hockey League championship. He played 110 games that season, more than he played in three seasons at Cornell.
"I had to make an adjustment that season, but now I know what to expect, in terms of travelling and playing three or four games a week," O'Byrne said.
O'Byrne said he was looking forward to the coming season.
"We're going to have a very competitive team. We've added two good players in (Alex) Tanguay and (Georges) Laraque, the goaltending is solid and there's going to be a lot of excitement around the 100th anniversary."
While Gainey might do some fine-tuning with the lineup, he won't do anything until Sundin makes his decision. The Canadiens have 23 players - the NHL roster limit - under contract.
The club also announced the signing of two minor-leaguers to one-year, two-way contracts. They are defenceman Shawn Belle and right-winger Mike Glumac. Both players are ticketed for Hamilton. Belle was acquired from Minnesota last week in a deal for forward Corey Locke. Glumac, who played four games last season with the St. Louis Blues, was a free agent.
phickey@thegazette.canwest.com
