Big veteran defenseman says he would jump at the chance to sign with the Habs.

An overlooked option for the Habs?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Big veteran defenseman says he would jump at the chance to sign with the Habs.
Keystone Press

One unsigned veteran free-agent says he would leap at the opportunity to sign with the Montreal Canadiens if the offer ever came. 

In a recent interview with 91.9 Sports radio, former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Eric Gelinas was asked about whether or not he would be willing to sign with the Habs and his answer left absolutely no doubt.

"It's certain that had I received an offer from the Canadiens, I would have not hesitated and I would have signed," said Gelinas.

The 26-year-old former second round draft pick broke out as a member of the New Jersey Devils but his career has stalled since being traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Gelinas now finds himself a free agent and it remains to be seen if any franchise will be willing to gamble on his services for the 12017-2018 season. 

Gelinas is not only a big man at 6'4 215lbs, but he showed a scoring touch with the Devils when he picked up 7 goals and 22 assists for 29 points in his first season as a Devil. The questions for teams will be how much of the blame for his decline can be placed at the feet of the Avalanche, and how much can he be expected to bounce back in a new environment.

With the Montreal Canadiens losing Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin and Nathan Beaulieu all within one season there was room on the blue line, however with the Habs having already signed veteran Mark Streit, Gelinas desire to play for the Canadiens may be just a pipe dream.

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