Alexei Yashin is considering Montreal.

Alexei Yashin has been released from the New-York Islanders just last week and is now an unrestricted free agent. He can now negociate with any NHL team for a new contract.

Among the places that he is considering, Montreal is one of his first choices. He said that he has a nice relationship with Alex Kovalev, Andrei Markov and Saku Koivu.

Can Yashin really help the Montreal Canadiens? We all know that Montreal has a big hole at the center position and with Yashin's raw talent, the 6'3'' and 220 pounds center could complete an efficient line along with Alex Kovalev and Sergei Samsonov.

I think that Yashin could be a short term solution but the Habs should be very cautious with the amount of money and the duration of the contract that they are willing to offer to him. I think that a deal valued between 2 and 3 Millions for a single season could be a reasonnable price tag. Montreal should not offer a multi-year deal to force the russian player to perform next season.

To be continued....

(Picture: Getty images)