The Montreal Canadiens have signed defenseman Alexei Emelin to a four-year deal, the club announced Thursday.
The deal is worth a total of $16.4 million, a source told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun. The cap hit will be $4.1 million per year.
Emelin, who has played 105 games over the past two seasons for the Canadiens, would have been an unrestricted free agent after the season. He had three goals and nine assists in 38 games last season.
