Plekanec

Rewind to Maxim Lapierre, being used liberally by the Canadiens as their francophone marketing face leading into this season. Lapierre was sent to Hamilton, where's he tearing up the AHL and daring the Habs to keep him on the farm. Now we've got Guillaume Latendresse, with Tomas Plekanec the co-captain of the Canadiens Fan Club for kids, and he's on thin ice...

Here is Tomas Plekanec's No. 14 Hamilton Bulldogs jersey, worn before he settled in with the Canadiens.

From today's Gazette, on Plekanec switching to uniform No. 14 from No. 35 for the coming season:

DAVE STUBBS
The Gazette

Centreman Tomas Plekanec is less than half the player he was last season.

That is, if you judge the man solely by his Canadiens jersey.

Canadiens' Gerry Carson and Johnny (Black Cat) Gagnon, who respectively wore the No. 14 in 1929-30 and 1930-33, long before it was claimed this year by Tomas Plekanec.
1933 Ice Kings hockey cards courtesy Howard McIntyre

With the departure of free agent Radek Bonk to the Nashville Predators, it might have been, oh, minutes before Tomas Plekanec requested jersey No. 14.

Plekanec, a revelation with the Canadiens last season, surrenders No. 35 in the process, and he's not broken-hearted to give it back to team equipment manager Pierre Gervais.

"Give me pads, a blocker and a mask," Plekanec told me two seasons ago, for a feature written on the Canadiens' jersey numbers. "I'm wearing a goalie's number."

Tomas Plekanec
Signs for two years

Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey announced today the signing of forward Tomas Plekanec to a two-year contract (2007-08, 2008-09). He'll be paid $1.4 million this season and $1.8 million, a handsome and well-deserved from his minimum-wage $450,000 of 2006-07.

The contract prevented Plekanec from going the often unpleasant route of salary arbitration to plead his value to his team, while the club suggests he's not worth what he thinks.

Here's a link to a feature on Plekanec published in The Gazette 10 days before the end of this past season, talking about his excellent sophomore campaign. It has a link inside it to the audio of the conversation.