2010 NHL Free Agency: Habs roster nearly complete after signing Maxim Lapierre

The Montreal Canadiens signed forward Maxim Lapierre to a one-year, $900K deal according to TSN.

On a team that often gets lampooned for being small (after all, they employ such sprites as Brian Gionta), Lapierre is a rare physical presence at the forward position. Although his seven goals and seven assists total a measly 14 regular season points (and only four in the team’s three playoff rounds), Lapierre often made himself noticed during the team’s playoff run.

TSN expands on the Habs’ free agent situation after signing Lapierre.

The signing leaves Carey Price as the only unsigned regular for the Canadiens. The club already notified free agents Glen Metropolit, Dominic Moore, Marc-Andre Bergeron and Paul Mara earlier this month that they would not receive contract offers.

With 12 forwards, seven defensemen and one goalie signed, Montreal’s roster is nearly complete. They have about $4.73 million in cap space to throw at Price and two other depth players. The team lost a lot of its bargaining power regarding Price when they traded Jaroslav Halak away to the St. Louis Blues. Luckily for them, the goalie market is so dry they aren’t likely to deal with many inquiries to their supposed savior in net.