PHILADELPHIA - Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin sees picking 26th in the NHL draft as a sign of success. For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal. Every team wants to win," he said Thursday on the eve of the draft. "Picking 26th, yeah its far back but again you want to make the playoffs and you want to have success. And thats what happened. Thats the price you pay." After falling short in the Eastern Conference final, the Habs find themselves with a first- and third-round pick and then five selections well down the draft ladder (117th, 125th, 147th, 177th and 207th overall). Their second-rounder went to the Islanders in the Thomas Vanek deal. Bergevin says he is open to moving higher or lower with his first pick, depending on the offers or scenarios. "We could use help everywhere," he said candidly. "Were a good team but we need to get better. Im always open to make our team better." The Canadiens have already made some decisions. Bergevin says free agents Vanek, defenceman Douglas Murray and tough guy George Parros wont be back. Defenceman Andrei Markov and coach Michel Therrien have signed new deals. Talks continue with three other free agents: captain Brian Gionta, and defencemen Mike Weaver and Francis Bouillon The Montreal GM also says there has been a meeting with star defenceman P.K. Subbans agent about a new contract. While much has been made of the Habs lack of size, Bergevin says its only one variable. "Size is something every team looks at," he said. "But character for me and compete (level) always comes into play. You can have a big guy who doesnt compete or you have (five-foot-nine) Brendan Gallagher — Ill take Brendan Gallagher all day long." Trevor Timmins, the Habs director of amateur scouting, said his staff will be keeping its fingers crossed as the first round unfolds. "We think positive about the player we want to get," he said. The good news is he believes there is a lot of parity in players available between the 15th and 40th picks. However he said it is a down year for francophone talent compared to 2013. The Habs scouts have done their homework, with Timmins and his staff having met with some 100 prospects. Cheap Wade Boggs Jersey . Every once in awhile, it seems like life lets dreams become real - and that is a gift. Cheap Rays Jerseys Authentic . Groves signed with Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent last year after a season with Arizona. He was in the linebacker rotation and had a sack in the season opener against Miami. http://www.cheapraysjerseys.com/Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies. Cheap Evan Longoria Jersey MONTREAL - A longtime respected voice in the Montreal Alouettes dressing room, Scott Flory will now put his leadership talents to work on behalf of all CFL players. The nine-time CFL all-star offensive lineman announced his retirement Wednesday after playing 15 seasons and winning three Grey Cups in Montreal. The move was largely expected after Flory became the new president of the CFL Players Association in late March. The Regina native suffered a season-ending biceps tear July 12 in a game against the Calgary Stampeders, though he was determined to return this season if he had not won his leadership bid. "It was a decision I made when I chose to run that I told myself that if I did win that I was going to retire," Flory said at an Olympic Stadium press conference. "It was a way for me to segue out of football from the playing side of it but still stay involved with the game and being around the guys and trying to represent them. "I was committed to coming back. I was training, I was doing everything, and I believe in this club and the direction that theyre going so I wanted to be a part of it." Flory felt that he could not do justice to either job by continuing to play while heading up the players union. "I didnt want to shortchange the players or the Alouettes by trying to do both jobs at the same time," Flory said. "Over my 15-year career I committed myself wholly to being the best football player I could be and I want to do the same in my new role as president of the players association." The 37-year-old is currently participating in talks with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement, though he declined to comment on any of those issues Wednesday. "Ive been a player rep since 2002 and sometimes there needs to be a guy who is the voice of the guys, and not everybody has the ability or the strength or the desire to talk to coaches or to deal with a lot of things that players have to deal with," Flory said. "It was something I likked and I cared about and I wanted to serve the guys .dddddddddddd.. and I was elected, and Im thankful for that. But over my time in Montreal I was always a part of the players association and I believe in the players and trying to represent them the best I can." Twice the CFLs top lineman (2008 and 2009), the six-foot-four, 296-pound Flory helped Montreal to Grey Cup victories in 2002, 2009 and 2010. "When people talk about how I was able to play for so long it was because of people like Scott that took pride in protecting the quarterback," said former Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo, who retired in January as pro footballs all-time passing leader with 79,816 yards. "They didnt get a lot of press, a lot of accolades, but in that locker-room when I could walk away from a game with not getting hit you could see a big smile on their face and they took a lot of pride in that, so they were able to do that for many, many years and that allowed me to play for a lot of years." Montreal selected Flory in the third round, 15th overall, in the 1998 CFL draft out of the University of Saskatchewan. He attended training camp before returning to the Huskies, helping them win the Vanier Cup that season. Alouettes tackle Josh Bourke acknowledged that losing both Calvillo and Flory to retirement will leave a leadership void in Montreal that needs to be filled. "It just means that were going to be missing two great leaders on our team, two great men," Bourke said. "Ive played a lot of football with Scott. Ive played a lot of games with him, pretty much every start Ive made in this league hes been on the field with me so Ive learned a lot the last seven years from him, how to be a man, most importantly, but how to be a great teammate, how to prepare, how to be a professional. "Guys like myself and other guys coming up the ranks, were the ones that have to kind of take over now but its going to be hard because hes been such a great leader for so long." ' ' '