Price to miss another 3-4 weeks; coaching staff will remain

This afternoon, general manager Marc Bergevin spoke to the media about the state of the team following a practice in Brossard. Marc stated that the Michel Therrien an his coaching staff will remain until the end of the season, regardless of what happens. The Canadiens have gone (4-15-1) since December 2nd, picking up a total of 9 points in a possible 44, ranking them in last among all 30 NHL teams. Montreal is currently on a 5 game losing streak and will face the Maple Leafs in Toronto next on Saturday, January 23rd.

Bergevin also mentioned that he does not have an exact time frame for goaltender Carey Price's return. He did say that he will be missing action for at least 3-4 weeks, maybe longer. Carey price hasn't seen action since November 25th, 2015, where he left midway through the game versus the Rangers due to a knee injury.

In other news, former Montreal Canadien and personal favourite, Jiri Sekac, has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in return for grinder Ryan Garbutt.

To watch parts 2 and 3 of Marc Bergevin's press conference: Press Conference part II & III 

Canadiens acquire All-Star in blockbuster

The wait is finally over Habs fans. The all-star they have been waiting so very long for has finally made his way to Montreal. 2016 all-star captain John Scott is now a member of your Montreal Canadiens, courtesy of Marc Bergevin.

In a bizarre turn of events this afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens were involved in a 3 team deal between the Arizona Coyotes and the Nashville Predators. The Arizona Coyotes announced this afternoon that they had traded Stefan Elliott to the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenceman Victor Bartley. Bartley was then flipped to the Canadiens along with John Scott for defensive prospect Jarred Tinordi and right winger Stefan Fournier.

27 year old defenceman Victor Bartely has 112 games under his belt, all with the Predators. With a deep defensive core, Bartley has only played a single game with Nashville this season, playing most of the season with Milwaukee of the AHL. Following the trade, Bartley has been assigned to St. Johns of the AHL.

The 6 foot 8, 260 pound sniper, John Scott has played for Minnesota, Chicago, New York, Buffalo, San Jose, Arizona and now Montreal. In his 285 game career, he has amassed a stunning total of 5 goals and 11 points along with 542 penalty minutes. Scott's best season came in the 2014-15 season with the Sharks where he tallied 3 goals and 1 assist in 38 games.

Fortunately, the Montreal Canadiens have no intentions of recalling Scott and will play the rest of the season with the St. Johns Ice Caps of the AHL. Due to this trade, Scott will no longer be eligible for the 2016 All-Star game in Nashville.

In all seriousness, this trade does create cap space and flexibility for Bergevin to work with, so expect another trade soon from the Canadiens. Scott was only part of the deal because the Arizona Coyotes and the NHL asked John to bow out of the All-Star game which he refused to do. Sending him to another team was the only way to make him ineligible for the All-Star game.

Here is John Scott's top 5 highlight reel goals:

Eric Staal to Montreal?

With just under 5 weeks until the NHL trade deadline, there has been much talk concerning Carolina Hurricanes center man and captain  Eric Staal 's future with the only franchise he has ever played for. At 31 years old, the eldest of four Staal brothers, Eric is in his final year of his 7 year / $57,750,000 contract. Currently midway through his 12th year with the Hurricanes, Staal has recorded total of 28 points in 44 games on a bottom division team. The 6 foot, 205 pound centerman won a Stanley Cup with Carolina back in 2006, where he recorded a career high 100 point season.

According to The Fourth Period, Eric Staal is unlikely to re-sign with the Hurricanes and is likely to be dealt before the deadline on February 29th at 3p.m ET. Staal did mention that there is a lot more than just the hockey to think about when asked about a potential trade, stating: "I have a family. There's things you think about. My brother's [Jordan] playing here. There are a lot of different things you think about. You try not to worry about it too much, and play, and hopefully we can get on a little bit of a run here and go from there and let it sort itself out. We'll see what happens."

Staal said in November he would like to re-sign with Carolina.

If Carolina is looking to move their captain, expect his brother Jordan to be on the move as well. Although, both players have a full no-trade clause and a high cap hit, which could make it difficult to deal them.  The Montreal Candiens are among a couple other teams that have expressed their interests regarding the center man.

Eric Staal could be the big, powerful centerman the Canadiens have been looking for to solidify them down the middle. GM Marc Bergevin and management must take Carey Price's injury status into consideration if they decide to pursue Staal, as he will likely be a rental player. It would take at least defensive prospect Jarred Tinordi or offensive prospect Michael McCarron and high draft pick to acquire the Hurricanes captain.

Would you be willing to pull the trigger on a deal for Eric Staal, knowing that Price could return prior to the playoffs?

#11 Jordan Staal (left) and brother #12 Eric Staal (right) - (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Galchenyuk's girlfriend arrested

Alex Galchenyuk's girlfriend, Chanel Leszczynski, was arrested Sunday morning following a domestic dispute between the two at the Canadiens forward's apartment. Fellow team-mate and friend, Devante Smith-Pelly was among the friends that were at Galchenyuk's apartment at 8 AM that morning. No further details about the arrest were disclosed.

After this morning's practice, Galchenyuk and Smith-Pelly were called to GM Marc Bergevin's office to clarify the situation. 

According to Patrick Legace and Vincent Larouche from La Presse, the Montreal Canadiens centerman will not press any charges on his girlfriend Chanel. 

On that note, TSN analyist and insider, Pierre McGuire mentioned on TSN 690 this evening that this isn't an issue to worry too much about. As to Galchenyuk's performance on the ice, McGuire said that Habs fans and management need to remember that he is only 21 years of age and is still in the developing stage of his professional career. The centre position already has enough pressure to it's title with it's responsibilities, and playing in the the most crazed and pressured city in hockey adds that much more. Pierre also mentioned that brining in some well respected alumni and ambassador Montreal Canadiens to speak with the team in order to jump start the players back to a winning record would be a prefect idea during this rough patch.

#27 Alex Galchenyuk (Jay Kopinski/ICON Sportswire)

Canadiens swap Tokarski to Ducks for Friberg

The Montreal Canadiens announced this afternoon that they have traded goaltender Dustin Tokarski to the Anaheim Ducks in return for Swedish left winger Max Friberg.

Reigning from Skovde, Sweden, Max Friberg was taken in the 5th round, 143rd overall by the Ducks in 2011. The 23 year old played most of the season in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls, putting up a decent 17 points in 25. Friberg has only 6 NHL games under his belt, pointless in all six. Following the trade, Marc Bergevin announced that Friberg has been sent down to the St.Johns Ice Caps of the AHL.

With a surplus of goaltenders in the system, it was a matter of time before the Canadiens dealt one of them. Dustin Tokarski played the majority of the season in the AHL, and had a brief stint as backup to Mike Condon. Tokarski is 10-12-5 in 33 NHL appearances with the Canadiens and Tampa Bay. In 6 games this season
he has posted a 1-3-0 record, along with a 3.19 GAA and a .878 SV%.

#35 Dustin Tokarski, now member of the Anaheim Ducks
(Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports)