Here’s an excerpt from the Hamilton Spectator article by Garry McKay:

Ajay Baines would have been back in a heartbeat.

The Montreal Canadiens showed no interest, however, and so Baines, the Hamilton Bulldogs’ captain last year, the player who scored the winning goal in the Calder Cup final against Hershey two seasons ago, now plays for the AHL’s Iowa Chops.

“To be honest, my first choice would have been to come back to Hamilton,” said Baines, who is living in Richmond, B.C. “We were told in July by Montreal to talk to other teams and we talked to a few and Iowa seemed really interested.”

Baines said he did eventually receive an offer from the Bulldogs and admits it was a good one.

“I just didn’t know how really interested (Montreal) were in having me back, partly because they left it so late and partly because there was no communication from them during the summer. There was a lot of communication from (Bulldogs’ owner Michael Andlauer), but I didn’t hear anything from Montreal, so I got the feeling they were going in another direction.”

Habster:
I wasn’t sure if Ajay Baines had been offered a contract by Montreal/Hamilton. I guess it was too late as Baines said. It’s too bad because his leadership will be greatly missed in the locker room and on the ice.