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Habs captain Gionta going to free agency

New York Rangers v Montreal Canadiens - Game One

MONTREAL, QC - MAY 19: Brian Gionta #21 of the Montreal Canadiens skates with the puck against the New York Rangers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 19, 2014 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Francois Laplante/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

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Brian Gionta and the Montreal Canadiens will likely soon be parting ways.

Agent Brian Bartlett tweets that the Habs captain will head to open market at Noon. J-F Chaumont of the Journal de Montreal says Gionta wasn’t able to work out a new deal with GM Marc Bergevin sending him to free agency.

Gionta, 35, has spent the past five seasons with the Habs and has been the team captain since 2010. In 303 games with the Habs, he scored 97 goals and had 173 points. He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

As for where he could wind up, one team that’s been mentioned is the Buffalo Sabres. Gionta, a native of nearby Rochester, NY, may be interested in playing the part of a veteran leader on what should be a very young team.

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