Canadiens general manger Pierre Gauthier's trip to the world championships bore fruit as he was able to sign two defensemen to entry-level contracts.

The more important signing is that of Russian defenseman Alexei Yemelin. The Canadiens have been trying to sign Yemelin since they drafted him in the third round in 2004. They thought they had a deal four years ago, but the agreement they reached with agent Don Meehan came hours after Yemelin's Russian agent reached an agreement with Ak Bars Kazan. Yemelin spurned the Canadiens again in 2009, but this time around he signed a one-year contract.

As an entry-level deal it's a two-way contract, but the Canadiens expect him to play in the NHL. If he doesn't make the team, there is a provision in the contract that would allow him to return to the Kontinental Hockey rather than play in Hamilton.

At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Yemelin has good size, and the Canadiens like the idea that he plays with an edge. He is known as a stay-at-home defenseman, but he showed an offensive flair last season when Ak Bars Kazan started using him on the power play. He had career highs with 11 goals and 14 assists, and seven of his goals were scored on the power play.

The Canadiens also signed Swiss Olympian Rafael Diaz. He's a skilled veteran defenseman in the mold of Mark Streit and current Canadien Yannick Weber, but he's bigger at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. He'll probably start the season in Hamilton.

Both players are expected to be in Montreal when the team holds a development camp in July. The camp will bring together an assortment of U.S. college players, drafted players from the previous two years and players drafted in this year's entry draft.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
The emergence of Carey Price and rookie defenseman P.K. Subban were the highlights of the season. The 23-year-old Price set career highs for appearances (72) and wins (38) and erased any doubts about the wisdom of trading 2010 playoff hero Jaroslav Halak. Subban built on his own playoff success in 2010 as he assumed a major two-way role after Josh Gorges was injured on New Year's Eve. He finished the season by averaging more than 28 minutes a game in the playoffs.

TURNING POINT
The Canadiens limped into Vancouver on Feb. 22 after losing to two of the worst teams in the league, Edmonton and Calgary. They had lost six of their previous seven games and appeared to be in a tailspin. But Carey Price atoned for a dismal performance in Vancouver the previous season and made 37 saves in a 3-2 win over the team with the best record in the NHL. That was the start of a stretch in which the Canadiens won six of seven games. All season long, the Canadiens showed an ability to raise their level against the top teams although they also showed a tendency to come up short against teams that weren't playoff contenders.

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