The Montreal Canadiens appear to be ready for life without Mike Komisarek, signing veteran blueliner Jaroslav Spacek to a three year, $11.5 million contract and defenceman Hal Gill to a two-year, $4.5 million contract.
Spacek, 35, is coming off a three-year, $10 million deal with the Buffalo Sabres and scored eight goals and 45 points in 80 games last season.
The Rokycany, Czech Republic native will be entering his 14th NHL season in 2009-10. He played in a total of 701 career regular season games in the NHL with Florida, Chicago, Edmonton, Columbus and Buffalo, tallying 303 points (73 goals, 230 assists).
The 5'11", 204-pound defenceman was a fifth round selection by the Panthers, 117th overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the Sabres as a free agent on July 5, 2006.
Gill, 34, helped lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup victory last month in an 11-year career that included stops in Boston and Toronto.
"I loved [Pittsburgh] and the organization, but we decided to part ways," Gill told TSN. "The timing was right.
"(Montreal) is a great organization. I've always loved to play in that building. It's a new experience to go to Quebec and play and my family's excited about that."