Jul 5, 2007, 21:45 GMT
Montreal, QC - The Montreal Canadiens signed blueliner Mathieu Biron and centreman Cory Urquhart to one-year contracts, then inked forward Tomas Plekanec to a two-year deal on Thursday. Also, the team signed free agent defensemen Jamie Rivers and Marvin Degon to one-year contracts. As per club policy, financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Plekanec had a breakout season last year with Montreal, as in 81 games he had 20 goals and 27 assists, all career-highs.
In 150 career NHL games, all with Montreal, the native of Kladno, Czech Republic has accumulated 29 goals and 47 assists along with 68 penalty minutes.
Biron, 27, was acquired by Montreal on December 15th, 2006 from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Patrick Traverse.
In 77 games last season with the American Hockey League's Worcester Sharks and Hamilton Bulldogs, he posted 10 goals and 29 assists along with 94 penalty minutes. Biron also chipped in two goals and six assists in 22 playoff games to help lead the Bulldogs to the 2007 Calder Cup Championship.
Biron has played six seasons in the NHL with the New York Islanders (1999 to 2001), the Tampa Bay Lightning (2001-02), the Florida Panthers (2002-04) and the Washington Capitals (2005-06). In 253 career games, the first-round pick (21st overall) of the Los Angeles Kings in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft has registered 12 goals and 32 assists.
Rivers, 32, split last season with the St. Louis Blues and the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. He registered one goal and three assists along with 36 penalty minutes in 31 games with St. Louis, while adding four goals and 19 assists in 30 games with Peoria.
In his career he has also skated with the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings and Phoenix Coyotes. In 454 games, Rivers has 17 goals and 49 assists along with 385 penalty minutes.
Urquhart split the 2006-07 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs and the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones. He registered five goals and 12 assists in 30 regular season games, and two goals and two assists in 18 playoff games with Hamilton. In 43 games with Cincinnati he scored 22 goals and added 18 assists with 47 penalty minutes.
Degon, 24, has played the past two seasons with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack. He led the team's blueliners in scoring with eight goals and 26 assists in 71 games last season.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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