Less than 48 hours to go...

And the two guys I think the Canadiens should be targeting, other than the obvious Pronger, Bouwmeester, or Jokinen rumours:

1. Martin St. Louis: He's good, he's French, he's a leader, and he's cheap. Next year's contract is for only $4 million, a steal for a guy +10 and a point per game on Tampa Bay.
2. Teemue Selanne: I've said it before and I'll say it again. This guy has serious chemistry with Koivu. He'd be an awesome addition to what has, at times, been an anemic offence.

And for your viewing pleasure, some of the bigger deals of recent years and how GM's remember them going down:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3946240

The Latest and Greatest...

• Ryan Smyth has been linked to Calgary (various outlets), Vancouver (Globe and Mail) and now...Edmonton? (Sportsnet) Could Captain Canada really head back to the city he spurned for a few thousand dollars? And how could the Oil fit him under the cap? 
• The Sens and Pens have discussed a Jarko Ruutu trade that would see him returning to his old team. (ESPN)

Sunday Tidbits

I love Sundays. Why? Well, many reasons. But sports-wise, it's because Sunday is rumour day. All the newspapers seem to print their weekly rumours. Simmons, Garrioch, Boone...it doesn't matter who it is, or whether they have any credibility, it's a fun way to end the week.

Two stick out today for the Canadiens. The first is not much of a rumour persay, but a clarification of what happened in the past. It comes from Steve Simmons in the Toronto Sun, who reported today in regards to Mats Sundin that: "One more Sundin truth: His agent contacted the Rangers and Montreal in a last-ditch effort to avoid signing in Vancouver. When neither responded, he moved West."

The other big news of the day comes from the Ottawa Sun. This morning's paper had this nugget, regarding a certain Avalanche winger:

"League sources say a possible solution the Habs are studying is Avalanche winger Ryan Smyth, who has three years left on his contract at an average of $6.25 million (all terms US) per season and is being shopped by Colorado GM Francois Giguere."

Now that would be a big, big move. And I have always thought Ryan Smyth would look great on the Habs. But his cap hit is enormous, and with the cap going down in two years he would potentially doom us to mediocrity.

One cheaper name I'll throw out there though, who may be available: Teemue Selanne.

Wouldn't the Finnish Flash looks great on the wing with Captain Koivu?