Sabres Sign Veteran Montador, Spacek Signs with Habs

I have a friend whose lone reminiscence of tough guy defenseman Steve Montador is, in his words, "Getting his face broken by Taylor Pyatt."

And since Pyatt's rep consists mainly of sending droves of teenage girls into a frenzy with his looks and picking up the Sedin twins' garbage in Vancouver, that probably doesn't bode too well for Montador and the Buffalo Sabres.

But, if you're Sabres general manager Darcy Regier, and 143 PIMs, 21 points and a +17 looks good to you, then so be it.

Montador signed with the club Wednesday, the first day of the National Hockey League's free agency period. The 29-year-old unrestricted free agent signed a two-year deal worth $3.1 million, according to The Buffalo News.

Regier is looking to instill some grit and leadership on a team with very little of either at the moment. A team which finished with 91 points, 10th place in the NHL's Eastern Conference.

He's also looking to bolster a blueline corps which lost Jaroslav Spacek to free agency.

Spacek signed a 3-year, $11.5 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday according to the Boston Globe and reported on TSN.

Montador split time between the Anaheim Ducks (65 games, 4 goals, 16 assists) and the Boston Bruins (13 games, 1 assist) in 2008-09 while suiting up for 11 playoff contests with the B's, recording a goal and two assists.