MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
RW Alex Kovalev rebounded from a difficult 2006-07 season to lead the Canadiens in scoring. He brought life and variety to the power play after Sheldon Souray's departure through free agency and also served as a mentor to Tomas Plekanec and Belarusian brothers Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER
RW Michael Ryder was coming off back-to-back 30-goal seasons and was expected to have a huge season en route to becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1. If anything, Ryder's value went down sharply. He scored only 14 goals and was a healthy scratch for 10 games. He dressed for only four playoff games and failed to earn a point.

FREE AGENT FOCUS
The Canadiens have four unrestricted free agents, and the team's priority will be to re-sign Mark Streit, the versatile forward/defenseman from Switzerland. He had a breakthrough season with 13 goals and 62 points and is due for a big raise after making only $600,000 this season. He says he wants to stay in Montreal but might be persuaded to move if he gets more money and/or a chance to play defense full-time.

D Patrice Brisebois and C Bryan Smolinski had good seasons, but Brisebois isn't a priority because the Canadiens want to make room for youngsters Ryan O'Byrne and Pavel Valentenko. Smolinski played well down the stretch, but the Canadiens believe they can fill his spot for less than the $2 million they're paying him. The team has no interest in bringing back RW Michael Ryder.

Among the restricted free agents, there's some concern about G Jaroslav Halak and Andrei Kostitsyn. Both have reportedly been courted by teams in the Russian Elite League. Halak is only 22 and might not be looking forward to a decade of playing behind 20-year-old Carey Price.

PLAYER NOTES

--D Andrei Markov might be facing shoulder surgery in the offseason. The Canadiens' best defenseman denied that he was seriously injured and said he plans to play in the world championships. Russian officials had originally announced that he wouldn't play because of knee and shoulder problems.

--D Mike Komisarek might face surgery on his hip. Komisarek, who was the NHL leader in blocked shots and No. 2 in hits, was sidelined late in the season. He returned for the playoffs, but his physical play dropped off.

--G Carey Price, who had a short summer last year because he was involved in the American Hockey League playoffs, said he would take several months off to recover from physical and mental fatigue.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.