Brandon Prust Gives Canadiens Character

Two years after being the worst team in the Eastern Conference, the Canadiens have put CHaracter back in the CH.

It started on July 1, 2012, when head coach Michel Therrien and director of player personnel Scott Mellanby rang the doorbell at the house of Brandon Prust’s parents — Kevin and Theresa — in Thorndale, Ont., looking for their son.

They brought with them a bleu-blanc-rouge Canadiens jersey with the No. 8 and “Prust” on the back. Later that afternoon — on the first day of free agency — the rugged forward accepted a four-year, $10-million contract offer from new Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, who had only been on the job for two months.