Habs News: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, Michael McNiven, Tomas Tatar

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | LAVAL, QC. — On Friday, the Canadiens signed Michael McNiven to a one-year two-way contract extension. The agreement will pay him $750,000 in the National Hockey League (NHL), and $100,000 in the American Hockey League (AHL). The contract guarantees the goaltender a salary of $110,000. Both parties finalized a deal ahead of the arbitration hearing scheduled for August 11th.

In 2020-21, McNiven had a 7-3-3 record, 2.59 goals against average, and .895 save percentage in 13 games played with the Rocket. At the conclusion of the AHL season, the 24-year old joined the Canadiens during their playoff run as part of the Black Aces.

McNiven is expected to be Cayden Primeau‘s backup in Laval this upcoming season.

Tatar Disappointing Finish

On Friday, former Hab forward Tomas Tatar met the media after signing a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils that will pay him $4.5-million per season.

“I have a special heart for Montreal, the fans, the organization,” Tatar said about his time with the Canadiens. He felt a new contract with Montreal wouldn’t be coming once Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli were signed.

“Team-wise it was very special for sure. To go that far in this league, it’s something very special. We had a great bond in the locker room,” added the forward about the team’s playoff run.

Tatar’s tenure with the organization didn’t finish the way he would have liked, having played in only five of the team’s 22 games in the post season. “I don’t really have an explanation to be quite honest,” answered the forward about the reason he was scratched.

The 30-year old didn’t expect any changes during the series against the Jets and the Golden Knights, as the team had success without him. Tatar felt disappointed that Dominique Ducharme didn’t give him a chance to play during the Lightning series.

“I really thought I could help the team in the Finals. Coaches are making mistakes, players are making mistakes, and I just wanted to prove how big of a mistake that was,” added the Slovak.

In 198 regular season games with the Canadiens, Tatar scored 57 goals and obtained 92 assists for a total 149 points. His production in the playoffs dipped to two goals and one assist in 15 games with Montreal.

“If our job is to play against the best offensive players and we get the job done, I don’t care if we will be productive or not,” explained Tatar when asked about his post season performances.

Canadiens Connection podcast

Current Habs topics were discussed on this week’s episode of the Canadiens Connection. Listen, share and subscribe!

By Chris G., Senior Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
Copyright © 2021 Rocket Sports

===