A year after they wouldn’t, Canadiens sign Gorges long-term

As everyone knows, New Year's Eve is a day to spend with someone you love, and clearly, Bob Gainey ascribes to this notion. Judging from Sunday's announcement, the Montreal Canadiens GM spent the day with defenseman Josh Gorges, hammering out the final details on a brand new, long-term contract. If you're sitting there saying, "That's silly, Bob Gainey doesn't love Josh Gorges," I direct you to the terms of the agreement, via Capgeek: $23.4 million over 6 years, for a $3.9 million cap hit. That's quite a commitment. I'd venture to say these two parties feel strongly about one another. Gorges extension doesn't change where he sits on the Canadiens' list of highest-paid defensemen. He was third behind Andrei Markov and Tomas Kaberle before the deal, and there he remains. But his salary now puts him on par with guys like Mark Giordano, Andrej Meszaros, and Anton Volchenkov, all of whom are of similar age, but probably higher skill levels. ...