MONTREAL—The Montreal Canadiens’ rebuilding continued on Friday as Jean-Jacques Daigneault joined new coach Michel Therrien as an assistant, while forward Travis Moen was signed to a four year contact with the team.
The 30-year-old potential free agent agreed to a US$7.2 million, four-year contract with the club on Friday. Moen will earn $1.8 million per season, after getting $1.5 million in each of the last three campaigns in Montreal.
"Travis brings tremendous leadership to our club and is very appreciated by his teammates," general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement, adding he was glad to sign him before the free agent market opens on Sunday.
"He has a lot of experience and brings a physical presence to our group of forwards."
Moen said the Canadiens' offer doused any idea of testing free agency.
"You're always tempted because you only get a few opportunities to test the market," Moen said from his home in Swift Current, Sask. "Our family loves Montreal and our first choice was to stay.
"When they're stepping up with four years; it was something we wanted but we weren't sure we'd get. When you get a great deal in a place you like, you take it."
Packing his bags from the American League, where 46-year-old Daigneault helped coach the Hartford Wolf Pack for the past five seasons, the former defenceman is making his return home.
Picked by the Vancouver Canucks during the 1984 draft, the Montrealer played 16 seasons in the NHL, wearing 10 different jerseys in the process. Daigneault sat on the Habs bench for six years, including a spot in the team’s victory parade after winning the Stanley Cup in 1993.
The Habs also signed checking centre Petteri Nokelainen and defence prospect Brandon Nash.
--with files from The Canadian Press.
