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Montreal signs Briere: two years, $8 million

Danny Briere

Philadelphia Flyers center Danny Briere pauses while speaking during a media availability at their hockey practice facility Thursday, May 10, 2012 in Voorhees, N.J. The Flyers lost to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference semifinals. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

AP

Daniel Briere is headed home.

The Quebec native, recently bought out of his deal with the Philadelphia Flyers, has agreed to join the Montreal Canadiens on a two-year deal, the club announced on Thursday.

According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Briere’s deal is for $8 million, with a $4 million annual cap hit. Combined with the Flyers buyout ($825,000 per year for the next four years), Briere will make nearly $5 million in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Update: the contract also has no-trade and no-movement clauses, TVA’s Louis Jean reports.

As mentioned above, the signing represents a homecoming for the veteran forward.

Briere, 35, grew up in Gatineau and played his junior hockey for Drummondville of the QMJHL.

This deal also marks a reconciliation of sorts. In 2007, Briere spurned the Habs as a free agent, opting instead to sign with Philadelphia despite the Canadiens offering a similar deal.

Here’s a recap of that decision, from a 2008 Sports Illustrated piece:

The fit seemed logical. Brière grew up a bleu, blanc et rouge fanatic (even though his hometown of Gatineau is a few miles outside Ottawa), and when his contract with the Sabres was up, the Canadiens were prepared.

They arranged for Brière, who had led Buffalo in scoring during the regular season (95 points) and in the playoffs (15), to meet with Habs legend Jean Béliveau.

They also offered a menu of enticements, including help with finding a house near the sprawling greenspace of Parc du Mont-Royal and a good school for his three sons, now nine, eight and seven.

But Brière saw a greater advantage to signing with the Flyers, who had nowhere to go but up. After finishing with an NHL-worst 56 points and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1994, they had acquired forward Scott Hartnell and defenseman Kimmo Timonen to complement a young nucleus that included forwards Mike Richards and Jeff Carter.

While the Montreal deal is a nice story, there are concerns that Briere only adds to a group of diminutive forwards that got pushed around at times last season.

The 5-foot-10 Briere now joins a lineup featuring David Desharnais (5-foot-7), Brian Gionta (5-foot-7) and Brendan Gallagher (5-foot-9).