What would this have to do with singing a 35 year old regressing forward long term? 3 years ago he was a 30 goal scorer and Briere had almost 70 points. Age hits fast and hard and with his style of play it's realistic to question whether Gionta will be worth the 4+M long term deal he'll likely be seeking next season let alone long term. This isn't the same as Markov where he's proven to be able to contribute highly on the ice when physically slowing down. Gionta might be a quality 3rd liner next season but at what point do you look at bigger picture and decide long term contract is better spent on a player that may actually be able to be still good near the end of the contract. Eventually Habs aren't going to be able to carry such a huge amount of overpaid 4th line/bench players.
The question is, did they hang up after hearing the contract that 35 year old 5'7'' player wants.
