Long time Canadiens defenseman Sheldon Souray finally inked a deal recently with the Edmonton Oilers. Souray was league renowned for his terrific shot (which resulted in 26 goals last season) and was the main reason the Habs maintained the #1 powerplay in the league last season. 

Rumours had long linked Sheldon to the L.A. area, thanks to his wife Angelica Bridges' (formerly of Baywatch) fledging acting career. But Edmonton? Sure, he's got ties to the local area, but it seems hardly like his first choice.

Souray led the Canadiens in power-play goals with 19 and penalty minutes with 135, while ranking second in goals (26) and points (64).   His 26 goals led all NHL defencemen. The deal is worth a hefty $27M over the next 5 years (or 5.4M/yr) and apparently includes a no-movement clause for the first three years of the contract.

Although also known for his defensive shortcomings, Souray was a physical defender who always answered the call to defend his teammates. Chief amongst those instances may have been the game against Pittsburgh when he pummelled Pens pest Colby Armstrong, who lined up Saku Koivu for a borderline hit.

Souray's departure from the Canadiens was sealed in stone earlier this month, when Canadiens GM Bob Gainey inked free agent defender Roman Hamrlik to a 4 year, $22M contract ($5.5M/yr). Gainey made the same offer to Souray's agent, Paul Theofanous, and it was rejected by Souray's camp.  

Given that Souray managed a tad less on the open market, the move does seem puzzling, but there are two factors that probably played a role. The first, and probably most important, was that Theofanous convinced Souray he could get more than 5.5M. The second, was that Souray's camp may have felt insulted by Gainey's earlier offer in June of 3 years for 18M.

Certainly Gainey will come out of this one smelling like roses if Souray ends up on the shelf for extended periods of time (he has blown out his wrist three times), but if he doesn't and Hamrlik struggles, Gainey might be in for even more of it from the media and some fans.

Souray was a class act during his time in Montreal, played his heart out for the team and he deserves a lot of respect for that.