Negotiations between Canadiens, Gionta getting 'serious', says agent
Contract talks between the Montreal Canadiens and pending unrestricted free agent forward and captain Brian Gionta have apparently intensified in recent days, according to Gionta's agent Stephen Bartlett.
"We're just kind of in discussions and the next probably few days will be critical to see (what happens)," Bartlett told Tom Gulliti of the Fire and Ice blog. "We just kind of got serious about it in the last day or two, so we’ll kind of see what kind of progress we make on that one and whether he becomes a July 1 guy."
The 35-year-old winger managed 18 goals and 40 points in the regular season for Montreal and added a goal and 7 points in 17 playoff games on the club's run to the Eastern Conference final. Gionta's results would suggest that he's getting a bit long in the tooth, but he remains a relatively productive middle line forward with Stanley Cup champion pedigree.
Because of his age, any contract Gionta signs with the Canadiens will be of the "35-plus" variety, which means that his annual averaged salary (or cap-hit) will remain on the books even if he retires before the expiry of that deal.
[H/T Pro Hockey Talk]