Enforcer Laraque departs East champs, signs with Habs

MONTREAL -- Forward Georges Laraque signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Laraque, 31, spent last season with the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

The 6-foot-3, 243-pound Laraque had four goals and nine assists and 141 penalty minutes in 71 games last season. He added one goal, two assists and four penalty minutes in 15 playoff games for the Penguins, who lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals last month.