The Montreal Canadiens made a deft move this afternoon and elected to file for team opted arbitration with netminder Carey Price.

In all likelihood the team has no intention of actually taking Price to arbitration, but this allows negotiations on a long term deal to continue past the quickly approaching date of July 1st without fear of another team sending Price an offer sheet.

Considering the assets that would go the other way should such an offer sheet be signed, it's unlikely that another team would attempt such an offer, but protecting themselves from having to agree to a contract that they themselves did not negotiate is a smart move by rookie GM Marc Bergevin.

Of course the move was met with some negativity by fans who don't understand the CBA or contract negotiations in general, but most seem to understand that this is Bergevin telling other teams they can't have Price.