The Montreal Canadiens announced Friday that forward Brandon Prust will be out of the lineup for the teams remaining regular sea

The Montreal Canadiens announced Friday that forward Brandon Prust will be out of the lineup for the teams remaining regular season games with an upper-body injury. On Tuesday, Prust left the game against the Colorado Avalanche for a few minutes during the first period but returned before the period ended. He scored a goal and added an assist, but seemed to play in pain. He practiced with the club on Thursday but only skated for 10 minutes before leaving the ice. The 30-year-old was not in the lineup for Thursdays 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and on Friday, head coach Michel Therrien said he will be re-evaluated before the playoffs begin in mid-April. DUNEDIN, Florida – Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos spent a patient offseason waiting for the market value of free agent starting pitchers to drop. In the end, Ervin Santanas desire to pitch in the National League and his willingness to play the waiting game won the day when he signed a one-year deal with the Braves worth a reported $14.1-million, exactly the value of the qualifying offer he rejected from his former team, the Kansas City Royals. Anthopoulos was light on specifics but insisted neither term nor dollars affected Santanas decision. The Jays could have increased their offer to Santana. They cant change the league or division in which they play. “Couldnt compete with it,” said Anthopoulos. “Wish him the best, obviously Im sure us and other clubs would have loved to have had him but were going to move on.” Santana couldnt find a multi-year contract offer which suited him, due largely in part to the draft pick compensation owed Kansas City by the team that signed him. The preference to pitch in the National League, in and of itself, is understandable. “I certainly understand it,” said R.A. Dickey, who pitched in the NL East for the Mets. “You get to face a pitcher every night, you dont have the DH and then the games are quicker and all that stuff, parks a little bit bigger. So, it makes sense logically for him on a one-year deal in particular.” Santana is pitching for his next contract; a deal he hopes will be a multi-year pact. He will be 32 at the time. The Braves play in a division that features the young, rebuilding Miami Marlins, the Bernie Madoff-infected New York Mets and the expensive, aging Phillies. On paper, only the Nationals pose a threat to Atlanta and both could end up in the playoffs, one as a wildcard. The Braves entered the fray on the weekend after two of their top pitchers, Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, experienced elbow pain. Beachy has had Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery.dddddddddddd It appears Medlen is destined for the operation, which would cost him the season, although he was seeking a second opinion. What isnt clear is how close the Blue Jays were to signing Santana before Atlanta emerged. It is clear they thought they close. “Talking about Santana (internally,) that kind of put some things on hold, it kind of changed our opinions on some things but now that hes gone were back to where we were,” said manager John Gibbons. Asked if he thought Santana would sign on the weekend, Anthopoulos kept his cards close. “Um, yeah, you know what, Id rather not say. Id probably rather not say.” Was Anthopoulos surprised the Jays didnt land Santana? “Thats another good (question.) Id probably rather not say on that one as well.” The Blue Jays exercised a full-court press to secure Santanas services. The pitcher has a number of friends on the club – hes a native of the Dominican Republic – and he shares an agent, Jay Alou, with Jose Bautista. None of it was enough. The Blue Jays are back to square one. R.A. Dickey, Brandon Morrow and Mark Buehrle are locks for the starting rotation. At the start of camp, Anthopoulos indicated J.A. Happ had a starters job, too, but has since backtracked. Happ was away from the team for two days late last week dealing with back pain both he and the club say isnt affecting his ability to pitch. Happ has been knocked around, to the tune of a 40.50 ERA in two appearances, and is now part of the larger group of pitchers competing for the final two rotation spots. Happ told TSN.ca on Saturday he hadnt been told of a possible change to his role. He was surprised and appeared vexed. “Well he hasnt told me anything,” said Anthopoulos. “As far as Im concerned, no one said anything to me, so I dont have any concerns.” ' ' '