Pierre Gauthier's manner in which he's gone about re-signing his players this spring appears to be following a particular pattern.

Hal Gill was the first to finalize a one-year contract extension for the same $2.25 million he made last year on May 31. Andrei Kostitsyn followed on June 9 with his one-year deal at the same $3.25 million salary, and Mathieu Darche signed a day later for $700,000, a 40 per cent raise from last year's league minimum salary.

Re-signing both Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais to two-year deals – worth a total of $3.25 million and $1.7 million, respectively – made Gauthier's priorities abundantly clear.

He signed two players in Gill and Darche who provide tremendous leadership, who are vocal both on the bench and in the room, who are smart and – perhaps most importantly – are key salesmen of coach Jacques Martin's message.

Kostitsyn, Pacioretty and Desharnais represent members of Montreal's youth, players who still have room to grow and who could represent big bargains should they undergo a growth spurt next season.

While few people are likely to see Kostitsyn as a potential bargain, the deals signed by both Pacioretty and Desharnais most definitely have a chance to fall under that category next season, and are all but assured of doing so two years from now.

But both need to show that a strong 19-game stretch from each was a glimpse into the future, and not anomalies they won't be able to reproduce on a consistent basis.

A sustainable pace? 

Starting with his 16th game of the season – that 8-6 beatdown in Boston – Desharnais went on a run that saw him produce five goals and 12 assists in 19 games as he developed some chemistry with Benoit Pouliot and began getting time on the power play.

But that was followed by a nine-game pointless streak to end the season, one that coincided with an equally fruitless run by his teammates.

Still, 19 games is a reasonably large sample size and 17 points is an impressive level of production for a player who only topped 15 minutes of ice time seven times in that span.

If Desharnais can get anywhere close to that pace over a full 82 games, his $850,000 cap hit will be one of the best values in the NHL.

As for Pacioretty, he was on a similar run at the time of his horrifying season-ending injury on March 8.

After notching just three goals and four assists in his first 17 games – even though he was playing well – Pacioretty scored 11 goals and six assists in his next 19, finding a home on the left of Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta while almost single-handedly making the power play go with seven of Montreal's 16 goals on the man advantage over that time.

Pacioretty said Monday he is convinced his injury will not prevent him from going back to being that player, one willing to take abuse and park himself in the dangerous area in front of the net. He says he's gained 10 pounds of muscle this summer to reach a healthy 215 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame and that he's "faster than ever."

"Watching the playoffs I know how important it is to have a forward like me and I think going into my injury I had a little bit of a hot streak going and I found a way to get to the front of the net," Pacioretty said. "I think that really makes a difference, especially in the playoffs. You look at the guys that are successful, they're the ones who are battling in front of the net. I want to be that type of player for Montreal for many years."

Pacioretty wondered aloud whether or not a Canadiens team with a full roster could have beaten the Bruins in the playoffs, but he said the way his teammates competed against a team that ultimately wound up winning the Stanley Cup despite those injuries provides him with motivation and hope that Montreal's turn may not be that far.

"There's a good group of young core players right now, and that's the light at the end of the path," he said. "Guys like Davey (Desharnais) stepping up, Lars Eller as well, and with (Carey Price) and P.K. (Subban) already being established, almost NHL All-Stars, it's definitely looking good and it's going in the right direction. There are a couple of guys that have to get signed right now, but once they do I think I'll feel pretty confident that we can run for the Cup next year."

Cap figure rising

That brings us to the other major piece of news that came Gauthier's way Monday, and that is the NHLPA voting to invoke their right to apply a five per cent inflator to next year's salary cap, driving the ceiling to roughly $64 million.

That is a robust $4.6 million increase on this past season, which essentially represents the equivalent of one second-tier free agent.

With Andrei Markov appearing to be close to agreeing on a new contract (reportedly the term remains the lone sticking point, though it is admittedly a sticky one), one of the unsigned players Pacioretty was surely referring to is Josh Gorges.

Gorges is a very difficult player to price because his top attributes – competitiveness and smarts – are abstract and therefore useless in the negotiating game of comparables. The fact he has those attributes at such a young age – Gorges turns 27 on Aug. 14 – is another advantage on his side.

Basically, Gorges falls under the two priorities Gauthier has shown thus far – leadership and youth.

With Pacioretty and Desharnais signed and the cap figure settled upon, Gauthier has a shade over $20 million in space remaining for, presumably, Markov, Gorges, Yannick Weber, a backup goalie, perhaps another defenceman and three or four forwards (I know I originally said it was a shade under $20 million, but my really late night math had me questioning Cap Geek. I'm sorry Cap Geek).

If Markov were to take up $5.75 million of that amount, it leaves right around $14 million for Gorges, Weber and four or five other players.

I examined the Gorges situation here earlier this month, and it's not an easy one to peg. Does Gauthier offer a one-year contract and risk Gorges becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, when the new collective bargaining agreement will hopefully be coming into force and the contracts for Price and Subban will also expire? Or does he buy up some of those UFA years now?

It's a tough decision, but based on how Gauthier has gone about his business thus far in the off-season, the answer appears to be a predictable one.