Apparently feeling jealous over all the attention Kevin Lowe is receiving lately, Bob Gainey has offered much maligned (and really ineffective) veteran Patrice Brisebois a contract for next season.
That's right, Patrice Brisebois. The guy who was basically run out of Montreal in the first place (and a player who most Avs fans are thanking the heavens is now off their roster and payroll).
Brisebois is 36 now and very much on the downslope of his career. Last season he was a sheltered, bottom-pairing defender for the Avs and was still in the red at ES. That is, before he was forced to sit out the rest of the season due to back surgery. A lot of people just figured Brisebois would retire this year.
And he still might. To Gainey's credit, the contract is a relatively small one ($700,000 for one year), not a lot of monetary incentive to a millionaire. And I can't fathom why Patrice want to play there again - it basically rained boos in Montreal whenever he touched the puck.
I still can't decipher Gainey's thinking on this move, however. Brisebois isn't going to help the Canadiens win, whatever his price. He can't even cut it on the bottom-pairing anymore. Might as well promote a rookie or sign, say, David tanabe for a touch more money. It's not like Montreal is pressed up against the cap or anything.
Hmm. Clearly Gainey didn't watch Tony Amonte struggle his way through the season with the Flames last year...
