Canadiens with two-way contracts allowed to join Bulldogs

Random thoughts while waiting for the NHL and its players to resume talking: Bulldogs add trio: The Canadiens have figured out a way to keep goaltender Cédrick Desjardins, defenceman Frédéric St-Denis and forward Aaron Palushaj employed during the lockout.

The three weren’t among the 21 players assigned to the Hamilton Bulldogs, but they will be with the American Hockey League club when it opens its training camp next week.

All three have two-way contracts and would normally have to clear NHL waivers before being assigned to Hamilton. The Canadiens delayed placing t hem on waivers because they feared another team would put in a claim.

But an informal agreement between the AHL, the NHL and the players’ association will allow the players to join the Bulldogs after signing AHL contracts. The option is available to players who were on AHL clear-day lists that would have allowed them to play in last season’s AHL playoffs.

Palushaj played 38 games for the Canadiens last season, while St-Denis played 17.

Desjardins, who signed his first contract with Hamilton in 2006, was in the Colorado organization last season and returned to the Canadiens as a free agent July 1. He posted a 2-0-0 record in his only NHL action with Tampa Bay in the 2010-11 season. He beat the Canadiens 4-1 in his NHL debut. NHL first to feel financial loss: The owners have suffered the first financial losses of the lockout with the announcement Wednesday that 61 pre-season games have been cancelled. The list includes two games at the Bell Centre, which represents a shortfall of $2 million to $3 million in the budget. Not every NHL team follows the Montreal formula, requiring season-ticket holders to pay full price for preseason games, but the cancellations will cost the teams upward of $50 million. Amerks get an upgrade: The Buffalo Sabres are the first team to compensate for some lost dates because of the lockout. The Sabres announced that the Oct. 23 game between the Bulldogs and the Rochester Americans will be played at First Niagara Center in Buffalo.

The Bulldogs will play two games at the Bell Centre, but both were scheduled before the lockout. The Bulldogs will play the Syracuse Crunch on Nov. 9 and Rochester on Feb. 22. Exaggerated exodus: There have been suggestions that players heading to Europe reflect a lack of solidarity among the NHL players, but what has been described as a “mass exodus” is little more than a trickle. Fewer than 50 players have joined European clubs and the overwhelming majority are Europeans who are trying to stay in shape while waiting for the lockout to end.

The group includes three Canadiens. Forward Tomas Plekanec has joined friend Jaromir Jagr with Klado in the Czech League, while defencemen Yannick Weber and Raphael Diaz are playing in their native Switzerland. Lalonde resurfaces: Ray Lalonde, who served as vicepresident of sales and marketing for the Canadiens and later as president of the Alouettes, has joined former Montrealer Graeme Roustan in the bid to build a $300-million, 20,000-seat arena in the Toronto suburb of Markham. Roustan recently stepped down as the head of Bauer Hockey to concentrate on the arena project.