panoo

PAT HICKEY, The Gazette
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2007

The Canadiens have lost the bidding war for the services of Russian defenceman Alexei Yemelin.

Pavel Lysenko of Sovietsky Sport is reporting Yemelin has agreed to leave financially troubled Lada Togliatti for the free-spending Russian Elite League power, Ak Bars Kazan.

The question for the Canadiens is: Does Yemelin have a contract clause that would allow him to get out of the two-year deal and sign with a National Hockey League team? Lysenko posed this question to Yemelin, but the 21-year-old member of Russia's national team said he didn't wish to discuss the details of his contract. Yemelin said he had been talking with the Canadiens, but they came into the negotiations after he had longstanding talks with the Russian team.

The Canadiens were sure they had a deal with Yemelin and were surprised to learn he was staying in Russia. Yemelin said he would play eventually in the NHL, but didn't put any timetable on his arrival.

While Yemelin would have had a chance to start the season with the Canadiens, the failure to sign him won't have much effect on the Habs' immediate plans. General manager Bob Gainey is still under pressure to a) re-sign Sheldon Souray or b) find a suitable replacement via a trade or the free-agent market.

NHL prices on the rise: Speaking of Souray, the Canadiens chances of re-signing him went from possible to unlikely after the Philadelphia Flyers secured the rights to Nashville defenceman Kimmo Timonen and signed him to a six-year deal worth an average of $6.3 million U.S. a season.

Souray's history of injuries might discourage a team from offering him a six-year contract, but he should command the same kind of money as Timonen. Souray is a year younger, has a definite edge in size and is more of a force on the power play.

Nashville clearing the decks: The Predators gave the Flyers permission to negotiate with Timonen and Scott Hartnell, who signed a four-year deal averaging $4.2 million.

Both players were eligible to become unrestricted free agents on July 1 and the Predators were able to recoup the first-round draft pick they gave the Flyers in the Peter Forsberg trade.

But this deal goes beyond trying to get something back for a couple of free agents.

The Predators are planning to reduce their salary-cap commitments while they discourage fans from buying tickets.

Prospective owner Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Research In Motion, wants to move the Predators to southern Ontario and has collected deposits for more than 10,000 season tickets at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton.

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