Danny Kristo close to signing with the Canadiens?

We here at Relentless Ineptitude headquarters can justifiably be accused of obsessing with the Danny Kristo contract situation.  Our first post about the young Canadiens' prospect wondered whether he was overhyped, whether his talent and potential warranted the amount of attention and high expectations that were placed on a player who was after all only a mid-second round draft pick.

We were enlightened and eventually convinced that he's a player with unique offensive skills and excellent skating ability.  We then tried to insert him into the cavalcade of rookies hitting the Hamilton Bulldogs roster last summer, only to learn that he chose to forego signing an entry-level contract and remain at UND for his senior season.  We thought that made sense for him, and also for the organization, since there were going to be enough rookies on the Bulldogs.

Justin Schultz's refusal to sign with the Ducks and choosing the Oilers instead, and the similarities between the two players' cases, made us revisit Mr. Kristo's decision, but again we were moderately confident that the situations were different, and that the odds in our favour were good.

Which brought us to now, as his career at UND draws to a close.  Mr. Kristo can sign a contract with the Canadiens and potentially turn pro as soon as his NCAA season is done, but he can also choose to wait until August 15 and be an unrestricted free agent.  We explored the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and again concluded that the odds were strong that he will sign a contract in April.

Now comes word from a Radio-Canada report that he is eager to sign with the Canadiens, and thinks highly of the organization.

L'athlète de 22 ans salive à l'idée d'officialiser sa liaison avec le Canadien.

« Ça fait cinq ans que j'ai été repêché, rappelle-t-il. Je pense que je me suis bien développé depuis. Montréal serait une place incroyable où jouer. »

Many interpreted his staying in school as a reluctance to play in Montréal, but it appears now that this is not the case.  Apparently the new management team, and Player Development Director Martin Lapointe specifically, have a good relationship with the player and are actively working to bring him into the fold.

Having another skilled prospect in our pipeline is great news, and hopefully we can bring this saga to a close in a couple of weeks.