The past twenty-four hours have been unusually busy for significant NHL player movement, with one being traded and two others claimed off waivers, with the Montreal Canadiens involved in two of the three. 

On the evening of December 1 came word the San Jose Sharks had claimed Canadiens defenseman Jay Leach off waivers. 

The Canadiens had claimed Leach off waivers from the New Jersey Devils back on November 6th. With several defensemen sidelined or hobbled by injuries the Habs needed an affordable veteran and Leach was available. As the Habs claimed him off re-entry waivers they only had to pick up half of his $500K salary for this season.

With the imminent return of veteran defenseman Hal Gill the Canadiens no longer had need for Leach's services and attempted to demote him to the minors but he had to pass through waivers first and the Sharks plucked him. 

As he was with the Canadiens Leach will likely fill a depth role. He played only 7 games with the Habs and likely won't see much more than that with the Sharks, who recently demoted struggling rookie Jason Demers to the minors in a move seen by many as a "kick in the pants" to get Demers back on track. Once he's recalled, Leach will likely be demoted unless he gets claimed again by another club off waives. 

This morning the Canadiens pulled off their second trade in as many weeks, this time shipping little-used center Kyle Chipchura to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a fourth round pick in 2011. 

Chipchura, 23, was once a highly-touted prospect of the Habs who was unable to crack the club's roster over the past two years despite given every opportunity to do so. 

His skating was considered the issue, likely due to a severed Achilles tendon he suffered in Junior hockey. 

The Ducks will be hoping Chipchura benefits from a change of venue and gets his game back on track but at this point in his career he's considered little more than a fourth line center. In 19 games with the Canadiens this season he had no points and was -10 in plus-minus. 

Soon after this deal was announced it was reported the New York Rangers had claimed center Erik Christensen off waivers from the Ducks. 

It's the fourth team in three years for the 25-year-old Christensen, who was once considered amongst the Pittsburgh Penguins promising forwards (he had 18 goals and 33 points in 61 games in 2006-07) but seemed to lose his spark after being dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers at the February 2008 trade deadline as part of the deal which sent forward Marian Hossa to the Penguins. 

After managing only 19 points in 47 games last season with the Thrashers he was dealt at the March 3rd 2009 trade deadline to the Ducks where he seemed to recover his offensive touch, with 9 points in 17 games with the Ducks. 

This season however he played in only 9 games with no points and was sent to the Ducks AHL affiliate in Manitoba for a conditioning stint in mid-November. He was obviously going to be demoted back to Manitoba after the Ducks claimed Chipchura. 

The Rangers are currently struggling and in need of a roster shake-up. Since the salary cap is preventing them from moving any overpaid underachievers the Blueshirts had to look to the waiver wire where Christensen, who can play both left wing and center, was the best option. 

With Brandon Dubinsky currently out with a broken hand Christensen will get another opportunity to prove himself but if he doesn't he could find himself headed to the minors later this season. 

TSN.ca reports sources claim Boston Bruins center Marc Savard has signed a seven-year contract extension believed to have an annual salary cap hit of $4.2 million per season. 

This comes as no surprise to Bruins watchers who understand only too well the value of the 32-year-old Savard to the club's offensive attack. Since signing with the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2006 Savard has averaged 87 points per season and is considered one of the best - and most under-rated - playmakers in the league. 

A foot injury which sidelined Savard for several weeks earlier this season only further drove home the point as to his value as the club struggled offensively in his absence. He currently has 10 points in 11 games.

If the Bruins failed to re-sign him Savard would've become one of the most pursued players in next summer's unrestricted free agent market. It had been suggested the Toronto Maple Leafs would've been among the suitors hoping to reunite him with former Bruins linemate Phil Kessel. 

It was originally believed Savard might seek between $5.5-$6.5 million per season so it's a good bet his contract will be front-loaded meaning he'll earn the bulk of the money in the first four years. 

Some might question committing to Savard for so long but given his value to the Bruins they really had little choice. Getting his cap hit down to $4.2 million - heck, anywhere under $5 million per - is a good deal, and if he can stay reasonably healthy over the next four-five years and keep up his strong production numbers it'll be a worthwhile investment for the Bruins. 

Two players cleared waivers on Thanksgiving (November 26) and have been demoted to the minors, while another young Russian player has been loaned back to his KHL team for the remainder of the season. 

First, the waiver news:

The Florida Panthers sent defenseman Ville Koistinen to their AHL affiliate in Rochester on Friday while the Philadelphia Flyers sent defenseman Danny Syvret to their farm team in Adirondack. 

Koistinen, 27, was in his third NHL season but his first with the Panthers after spending the past two seasons with the Nashville Predators. Syvret, 24, started the season with the Flyers after spending most of last with their minor league affiliate. 

Both blueliners struggled this season and eventually wound up losing playing time since the start of the season. 

Syvret was on a two-way contract so he'll earn an AHL salary while in the minors but the Panthers will have to continue paying Koistinen, who signed a two-year, one way contract last season, his $1.2 million salary for this season, although it'll come off their salary cap as long as he's in the minors. 

Now for the young Russian player returning to the KHL. 

Following the lead of the Columbus Blue Jackets who earlier this month loaned winger Nikita Filatov backed to his KHL team, the Phoenix Coyotes have done the same with young forward Viktor Tikhonov, who'll return to CSKA Moscow for the remainder of this season. 

Tikhonov, 21, played 68 games with the Coyotes last season but he was playing for their minor league affiliate this year. 

Filatov and Tikhonov are expected to return to their respective NHL teams next fall in hopes of earning roster spots. 

Last Friday I blogged about keeping an eye on the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs as it appeared changes could be imminent to their respective rosters. 

At that time the news was full of reports the Blackhawks were believed close to announcing the re-signings of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith but would need to dump some salary first to avoid violating the league's "tagging" rule, while in Toronto the media was buzzing over comments made by Leafs GM Brian Burke claiming he was working on a couple of trade options but failing those he might consider demoting one or more players currently on one-way NHL contracts. 

Since then there's been no activity by other club. 

Over the weekend there was talk the two teams had spoken and it was believed the Blackhawks were offering up defenseman Brent Sopel and either a pick or prospect, likely in return for a pick or prospect as the 'Hawks wouldn't want to take back salary in return. 

Since then report out of Toronto claim those deals were "dead" and there's been no further word about any impending trades between the two sides. 

It also appears Burke's threats of trades or demotions might've lit a fire under his team as it went 2-0-1 in their next three games, which may have prompted Burke to back off from any potential moves for the time being. 

The Blackhawks aren't necessarily under significant pressure to make a salary dumping deal now. Kane, Toews and Keith are restricted free agents next summer so they don't have to officially announce the re-signings until season's end. 

Still, it would be to the team's advantage to announce the re-signings sooner rather than later as currently they probably only have "deals in principle" with the three, and the last thing Blackhawks management wants is the possibility the agents of Kane and Toews (they share the same one) or Keith to come back and perhaps change their minds if nothing has been officially signed. 

That of course is merely speculation on my part, but it is something worth considering in all of this. 

Heading into this season expectations were high for the St. Louis Blues. 

Having missed the playoffs in the first three post-NHL lockout seasons the club overcame a slow first half to last season, finishing strong down the stretch to qualify for the 2009 playoffs. 

Despite being swept out of the post-season in the opening round by the Vancouver Canucks the feeling amongst Blues fans and some outside observers was the Blues long rebuilding post-lockout plan was finally bearing fruit. 

So it's not difficult to understand the disappointment felt by Blues fans as their team is stuck in the basement of the Central Division and sitting above only Anaheim and Minnesota in the Western Conference standings. 

So what's with the Blues faltering start to this season?

The most obvious culprit is their poor offensive production. As of this writing the Blues have scored the fewest goals of all NHL teams this season (50), and possess the worst power-play in the league. 

Sophomore defenseman Erik Johnson is currently the team's scoring leader with 15 points, and while it's great to see Johnson has recovered from last year's season-killing knee injury, when your best offensive player is a defenseman, unless he's named Bobby Orr you've got a problem scoring goals. 

Greybeard winger Keith Tkachuk has five goals and 13 points. Highly touted young players like David Perron, Patrick Berglund, TJ Oshie and David Backes have struggled with consistency. Veterans Brad Boyes and Paul Kariya are well off their expected pace. 

The Blues offensive woes have led to speculation head coach Andy Murray may have lost the room, that he's clashing with Berglund and cannot motivate the vets to step up. 

Perhaps Murray is having some trouble motivating his charges but there could be more to it than just his style. 

Tkachuk is on pace for another 20-plus goal season but he'll be turning 38 later this season and his best days are well in the past. Boyes seems to have been plagued by consistency issues throughout his career and may be going through another trough. 

Kariya started strong this season but his performance quickly tailed off leading to suggestions that at 35 his career might be coming to an end. 

Reliable center Andy McDonald was sidelined earlier in the season by injury which also had an impact upon their offense. 

As for the younger forwards it could be a combination of coping with heightened expectations and perhaps believing their own press. 

Still, despite the rough going early in the season the Blues have ample time to turn things around, and there are some promising signs which suggest they could. 

For one, their goaltending tandem of Chris Mason and Ty Conklin have been solid, with a combined goals-against average of 2.27 and the league's second-best combined save percentage (.923). 

They've played well defensively when short-handed, sitting with the fifth-best penalty kill thus far

As noted earlier Johnson is having a terrific season thus far, and has points in all but two games this month. 

McDonald has looked good since returning from injury and like Johnson has points in all but two games he's played in November. 

Ultimately though it all comes down to their offense. If most of those currently struggling with their scoring can regain their groove the Blues should start climbing up the standings.

Time fortunately remains on their side but it also remains to be seen if they can put it to good use to get their offensive game working again.