It may be the start of the Independence Day long weekend in the United States but  Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier had a busy Fourth of July.

Regier first dealt forward Steve Bernier to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a draft pick next season and in 2010, then acquired defenseman Craig Rivet from the San Jose Sharks. It’s believed those picks were the ones acquired from the Canucks.

Bernier’s now on this third team in a year, having been shipped to the Sabres from the San Jose Sharks last February. He made a sensation debut in his first game with the Sabres, scoring twice and defending Derek Roy late in the game, endearing himself to the Sabres faithful, but his production tailed off in the final games of the season.

The Canucks will be hoping he can provide some much-needed scoring depth in the wake of the departures of Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison to free agency.

Regier was seeking a veteran defenseman with Dmitri Kalinin signed by the Rangers and Teppo Numminen not expected to return. It had been rumored Maxim Afinogenov might be dangled but his poor performance last season may have scared off suitors.

Rivet had one of his best season of his career in 2007-08 with the Sharks, with a career-best 35 point performance, and having played most of his career with the Montreal Canadiens he’s no stranger to the Eastern Conference and the Northeast Division.

He’s signed through to 2010-11 at $3.5 million per season and with his experience could be a good addition to the Sabres defense corps.

RDS.ca reports the San Jose Sharks re-signed defenseman Craig Rivet Wednesday to a four-year, $14 million contract.

The Sharks acquired Rivet from the Montreal Canadiens days before the February trade deadline and he quickly became an invaluable member of their blueline corps.

It’s not surprising the Sharks retained him, although the contract is a bit of an eyebrow-raiser.

Rivet turns 33 in September and while he’s been a steady, reliable blueliner throughout his career he’s never posted up the kind of career numbers that one would deem worthy of $3.5 million per season. Still, if the Sharks didn’t sign him to that amount, another club would’ve had he hit the open market.

The length of the deal – four years – is also a bit of a risk given Rivet’s age and injury history, although to be fair he’d had four straight seasons of 80-plus games prior to last season.

It’s a bit o####amble but with Rivet playing on a much better team now than he did in his years in Montreal he won’t be forced into playing beyond his skill level, thus it could prove a worthwhile deal for the Sharks.

Regardless of Rivet’s true worth, it’s clear that his contract will likely drive up the market value of comparable free agent blueliners like Danny Markov and Cory Sarich this summer. Once again, the salary cap is doing little to prevent teams from overspending on free agents.

The Montreal Canadiens finally dealt a defenseman but it wasn’t Sheldon Souray as expected.  

Instead, the Habs dealt Craig Rivet and a fifth round pick in 2008 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Josh Gorges and a first round pick in 2007.

Rivet had been one of the longest serving players on the Canadiens, having been on the roster since the 1995-96 season. However, his status as an unrestricted free agent, combined with perceived clashes with head coach Guy Carbonneau, were undoubtedly contributing factors in this deal.

He’d also been out of the lineup for the past two weeks recovering from pneumonia but is believed to have no lingering effects from the illness and should be ready to play for the Sharks immediately.

The Sharks had long been seeking an experienced defenseman, and Rivet should fit the bill. While not known as a puckmoving blueliner, he was long considered one of the Canadiens better all-around defensemen.

Gorges is in his second NHL season, having played 47 games this season with the Sharks. TSN rates him as making the most of his ability and possessing a good work ethic, but doesn’t project him higher than a 6th defenseman.

If Canadiens fans were expecting a return to have an immediate positive impact, they’re likely to be disappointed. GM Bob Gainey was obviously thinking toward the long-term future with this acquisition.  

It’s possible he might try to flip this first round pick or his own in a package deal for a deadline rental player, but it remains to be seen if that’s in Gainey’s plans.

The rumor mill will also likely to continue buzzing over Sheldon Souray's future, but it would appear with this move that he'll remain with the Canadiens until season's end.

The Montreal Canadiens, who've sucked on toast over their last 12 games (4-8 record is ugly with a capital "UG"), placed forward Garth Murray on waivers today. If unclaimed Murray will be demoted to the Habs AHL affiliate in Hamiton, Ontario. 

Hat tip also to "Daniel" who e-mailed me prior to the start of Tuesday's Habs-Vancouver Canucks matchup noting that forward Sergei Samsonov and defenseman Craig Rivet were healthy scratches.

So what's up with Les Canadiens? Are they planning a big move here?

Unlikely. As always, the truth is usually far less glamorous or exciting.

The Habs have struggled big time of late, particularly offensively, so by exposing Murray to waivers they're making room to retain promising, energetic young center Maxim Lapierre, who's looked good in his recent call-ups with the team.

As for Samsonov and Rivet, they simply haven't played well of late. Head coach Guy Carbonneau, furious over his team's lack of effort in its last two games (an 8-3 pasting at the hands of the Ottawa Senators during "Hockey Day in Canada" on Saturday, followed by a lackluster 2-0 loss to the  Detroit Red Wings on Monday), is sending a message to his players that, regardless of  salary or status with the team, no one escapes punishment for crappy performances.

And given how crappy Samsonov and Rivet have played of late, why would any GM in his right mind wanna trade for them? Sammy's been an overpaid underachiever all season, while Rivet (an impending UFA this summer)simply hasn't played up to his usual steady, under-rated standards over the past month.

A month ago, Les Habs were one of the hottest teams in the league, at one point barely five points behind the Conference leading Sabres.

Now, they're 11 points back and in danger of sliding out of the top four teams in the Conference and possibly even out of playoff contention if this slide isn't checked soon.

It remains to be seen if Carbo's moves will stimulate his charges into playing more spirited hockey, or if this will only send them swooning further.

Yes, I'm harsh in my critiques of the Canadiens because they're my favourite team, this is my blog and I'll be as harsh with them as I please. So there, nyah...>:P