The Montreal Canadiens reminded their fanbase they were awake today for the first day of free agency by re-signing defenceman Greg Pateryn to a one way, two year deal worth $800,000 on the cap.

Pateryn, 25, was originally a 2008 draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, coming to the Montreal Canadiens when they moved Mikhail Grabovski. A stay at home defenceman with grit and a right handed shot, Pateryn played 17 games for the Canadiens in the season with no points to show. He did however put up three assists in seven playoff games.

The signing of Pateryn makes clear what we already knew, which is that Mike Weaver and Sergei Gonchar would be sent off to the sunset. The Canadiens have had trouble locking down their right side only to sign Jeff Petry and now extend Pateryn. The 6’2″, 222lb blueliner won’t be expected to do much more than play 15 minutes and stay reliable in his zone. His right handed shot will still be a compliment to the defence. With one of the most expensive bluelines in the NHL, it’s good for Montreal to have their two young defencemen in Nathan Beaulieu and Greg Pateryn to be paid $1M or less.