Two Quebecois players being linked to the Canadiens.

The Montreal Canadiens had something of a public relations fiasco this year when for the first time in the history of their storied franchise they failed to have a Quebecois player in their lineup. The Canadiens are of course based out of Montreal, Quebec and have a strong cultural link to the province so while it may not have seemed like a big deal to anyone else outside of the province, it was widely covered by the media at the time.

The Canadiens were put in that position when forward Jonathan Drouin took a leave of absence from the team and forward Phillip Danault was sidelined due to injury, and with Danault set to become an unrestricted free agent in just a few short days it would seem as though there is a relatively good chance of the problem repeating itself next season... or at least there was.

If rumors are to be believed it would appear as though securing a few more Quebecois players for his roster has been a top priority for Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin in this offseason, with his team now linked to two such players. Former NHLer Georges Laraque reported on Monday that he has heard both veteran defenseman David Savard and veteran forward Cedric Paquette are likely headed to Montreal where they will sign new deals with the Habs for next season.

Savard is of course coming off of a run to the Stanley Cup Championship as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning after he was dealt by the Blue Jackets at the trade deadline. Perhaps no one knows better than the Canadiens what Savard brings to the table as they were soundly defeated by Savard and the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Paquette is also a former member of the Tampa Bay Lightning but he spent last season playing for both the Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes. In 9 games with the Senators he had just 1 goal and over 34 games as a Hurricane the centerman had 3 goals and 4 assists for 17 points on the season.