Daily Hab-it: Will Hamrlik ride off into the sunset?

Roman Hamrlik is joining a highly select group Thursday night by playing in his 1,300th career NHL game, something only 48 other players and 15 other defencemen have ever done.

Just look at the list of fellow rearguards to reach the mark and it makes the milestone that much more special, even if isn't necessarily a number one would normally celebrate: Chris Chelios, Scott Stevens, Larry Murphy, Raymond Bourque, Phil Housely, Nicklas Lidstrom, Glen Wesley, Tim Horton, Luke Richardson, Al Macinnis, Harry Howell, Paul Coffey, Larry Robinson, Teppo Numminen and Red Kelly.

The fact Hamrlik will join that group against the team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, which selected him first overall in 1992 makes it that much more special because it underlines how he has morphed from the offensive defencemen he was drafted as into the steady, more conventional defensive blue liner we see today.

That's not to say he's a total slouch offensively either, seeing as Hamrlik sits tied for 34th among NHL defencemen for points since signing with the Canadiens in the summer of 2007 (oddly enough, his 114 points is tied with Jaroslav Spacek). And to show that his production has not dropped off all that much in spite of the general perception that he's in decline, Hamrlik's 30 points this season also have him tied for 34th in the league, the exact same ranking.

He's also played in 300 of the Canadiens 316 games over the length of his contract, second only to Tomas Plekanec (312) over that span.

The four-year, $22 million contract Bob Gainey handed to a 33-year-old defenceman that summer appeared expensive and risky at the time, but I think we can fairly say the Canadiens have gotten their money's worth and more out of Hamrlik.

Even now, with his 37th birthday looming April 12, Hamrlik is a major reason the Canadiens have been able to weather the losses of Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges on the blue line by sitting in a virtual tie with James Wisniewski atop the team list in ice time, missing only three games along the way.

A piece of an old puzzle

Another milestone that is within Hamrlik's reach, however, brings the complexity of his status to the fore. As CTV's Brian Wilde mentioned in his report on Hamrlik on Wednesday evening, he sits just 13 games behind Bobby Holik for the most games played by a native of the Czech Republic going into Thursday night. Except with just 12 games remaining on the Canadiens schedule, there's a serious question as to whether or not Hamrlik will surpass Holik wearing the CH.

If you click on the video player to the right, you'll hear Hamrlik say how he'd love to stay in Montreal, and he's already on record saying he would take a salary cut to make that happen.

The question, however, is just how much Hamrlik would be willing to give up.

Pierre Gauthier has a pretty empty canvas when it comes to next season's defence, with only P.K. Subban and Spacek signed beyond this year. Spacek's cap hit is impossible to remove other than through a trade because he signed his contract two summers ago when he was over 35, which means a buyout or waivers are not options in his case.

So with Subban and Spacek taking up just over $4.7 million between them, and presuming that Gauthier will re-sign Markov at his current salary (a big presumption, I know) and Gorges for $2.5 million a year (another big presumption, I know) and Yannick Weber for around $1 million, that adds up to about $14 million.

When you add that to the $35 million already on the books for next season, it leaves you with $49 million spent and at least six forwards, one defenceman and a backup goalie left to sign with the remaining $9-11 million left under the cap.

That one starting spot on defence will be filled one of several ways, either by bringing one or two of James Wisniewski, Hal Gill, Brent Sopel or Hamrlik back as unrestricted free agents, reaching out to a thin class of defencemen available on the open market, or filling it from within with a prospect.

Hamrlik or Gill

In my eyes, if you sign Markov it means you have to plan on him being healthy so that gives you three defencemen with offensive abilities with Weber and Subban, which makes Wisniewski expendable, especially considering the salary his near 50-point season would command. With Gorges back, Sopel becomes similarly redundant. That leaves Gill and Hamrlik.

It's not an easy decision by any stretch, and the possibility exists that Gauthier could sign both if they agree to take severe cuts in pay.

But already this season, the Canadiens have three of the 20 oldest defencemen in the league in Spacek, Hamrlik and Gill (who turns 36 on April 6). Only Detroit (Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski and Ruslan Salei) and Philadelphia (Sean O'Donnell, Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen) have three regular defencemen aged 36 and up.

Would Gauthier want this scenario to repeat itself, especially with Markov turning 33 himself in December?

I'd bet he wouldn't, and ultimately the situation will come down to bringing back Hamrlik's all-around versatility or Gill's more specialized defensive play and vocal leadership.

As it stands now, Gill is probably in the lead, but I think a lot of people who complain about Hamrlik may find themselves realizing just how much he meant to this team if he's gone.