Eyes On The Prize, a Montreal Canadiens community

In a surprise move, RFA Teemu Hartikainen has signed with Ufa of the KHL.

These festivities are brought to you by, come on you all know his name- Mark Gandler! Wow... has it been a year already? Well, look at your calendar- its the third week of July! That, as Im sure you all know, is the traditional "Yashin back to the NHL" week. ♫♪ ♫ Its the most... predictable tiiiime of the year! ♪ ♫ For those of you interested in taking a trip down memory lane to "Yashin back to the NHL" rumors of years past while we get ready to play again this year, check the link in the title to find some previous "Yashin back to the NHL" stories that are sure to get you into the holiday spirit. Like any other traditional holiday week, "Yashin back to the NHL" always goes the same way- Yashin has a super-cool, concrete/solid/etc offer from an NHL team (usually hinted to be the Islanders, but any team will do) for (lots of?) money, comparisons are made to Jagr or some other older (preferably Russian or former eastern bloc) player(s), but then Yash ultimately decides not to take it. Sure, you know EXACTLY how its gonna go... but you know how St Patricks Day is gonna go too- and that doesnt stop you! Dont let the complete and utter predictibility of this annual holiday take away from the tradition and deep, profound meaning that is behind the "Yashin coming back" spirit. So... get out those turtlenecks and old CMC Yash jerseys, everyone! Celebrate like its 2007!

Via tweet from Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy. This has a more explanatory version of how the leagues will respect each other's player's contract statuses.

According to Rick Ralph of TSN 1290 and the Dynamo Minsk website, Tim Stapleton will be a member of the KHL's Dynamo Minsk this fall. He scored 27 points (11G, 16A) in 63 games with the Jets last year. HC Dinamo Minsk official home page states former #NHLJets Tim Stapleton (current UFA) has agreed in principle to a contract.— Rick Ralph (@RickRalphTSN) July 11, 2012

Buried in last week's news of Alexander Radulov's inevitable departure from the Nashville Predators was GM David Poile's decision to not attempt to re-sign AK-46. From CBSSports.com: "I wonder how much of a market there will be for Kostitsyn this summer. The words 'underachieving' and 'disappointment' seem to come up a bit around him and then there is the stigma of this situation, which could linger further. At the least, there likely won't be teams backing up the trucks of money to his doorstep in the NHL." More from David Poile's interview with the Preds web staff here.

Ex-Oiler forward Robert Nilsson made his 2011-12 KHL debut for Salavat Yulaev against Atlant (soon to be moved to Winnipeg) in a 5-3 win. Nilsson tallied two assists in the win.

Dmitry Chesnokov, a Puck Daddy writer, broke the news on Twitter this morning. Such an awful year for hockey. I don't even have the words anymore to explain such things. Just remember to tell the people you care about in your life how much you love them, appreciate them, and need them, so that they'll always know how you feel, no matter what happens. Do this often. Life's too short - for everybody.

No confirmation on who was on-board, but the roster includes former NHLers Pavol Demitra, Karel Rachunek, Ruslan Salei, Karlis Skrastins, Josef Vasicek, and Alexander Korolyuk. They were coached by former NHLer Brad McCrimmon, along with assistant coaches Igor Korolev and Alexander Karpovtsev. Regardless, horrible news for a terrible summer. FINAL UPDATE: Bruce Peter over at Puck Worlds has the complete list of deceased and survivors, reported and confirmed. Our best wishes to their loved ones.

According to Spector, Salei has signed a one year deal with the KHL, ending his brief tenure with the Detoilet Dead Things