Free-agent forward Byron Froese has inked a two-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens.

The 26-year-old Winkler native played six games in the NHL this past season with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.

He scored 27 goals and 19 assists in 54 games with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies and Syracuse Crunch.

Froese recorded six goals and seven assists in 22 playoff games with the Crunch,

The contract with the Habs is worth $575,000 per year and the first year of the deal is a two-way deal.

Froese was selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.


photo courtesy Ray Peters