Bittersweet.

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"George Gillett and his family did a magnificent job as owners over the last eight years and I'm saddened to see them leave," Canadiens president Pierre Boivin (right) says of the team owner, who has agreed to a deal to sell the iconic club.

Photograph by : Montreal Gazette

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Relieved.

Happy.

Those were words Canadiens president Pierre Boivin used yesterday to describe his reaction to George Gillett's decision to sell the team to brothers Geoff, Andrew and Justin Molson.

"George Gillett and his family did a magnificent job as owners over the last eight years and I'm saddened to see them leave," Boivin said as he left the National Hockey League's board of governors meeting at the Ch?teau Champlain Hotel.

Boivin said he was relieved the bidding for the iconic franchise was over and he was happy for the Molson family.

"This is the third generation of the Molson family to own the team and there's a great tradition there."

Boivin said reaction to the sale from other teams was positive, but noted that it will take six to eight weeks for the league to conduct its due diligence before the board of governors gives its approval.

Gillett attended yesterday's meeting, but left early. He's suffering from pneumonia and is on antibiotics, but Boivin said he would be visible this weekend as the city hosts the annual entry draft.

Boivin said Canadiens management stayed focused on the day-to-day operations during the bidding for the team and that general manager Bob Gainey and his staff were in a position to remake the team during the coming weeks. He said the decision to have 10 unrestricted free agents was a conscious one and provides the Canadiens with great flexibility.

But the president said he wasn't at liberty to discuss the team's strategy, noting: "We don't want to tell the other 29 teams what we're doing."

Boivin said the governors discussed budgets for the coming season and each franchise provided an update on its situation. Boivin said the salary cap hasn't been fixed, but will be between $54 million and $56 million. The high figure will be in effect if the NHL Players' Association invokes an escalator clause in the collective agreement.

"We expect to spend up to the cap," Boivin said. "We have strong support from our fans and a solid revenue stream."

There hasn't been an unsold seat at the Bell Centre since the lockout ended and the numbers bandied about during the bidding for the club showed a profit of $57 million. While there has been a downturn in the economy, it apparently hasn't hurt the Canadiens.

"Our fans were disappointed in the way the season ended, but our season-ticket renewal rate is at 98 per cent and we expect that when we wrap up sales in a couple of days, it will match the 99 per cent we reached last year, which was a record," Boivin said.

That's despite an average price increase of three per cent, which Boivin described as "slightly above inflation." He said the only concern at this point would be a sharp spike in the value of the U.S. dollar. All salaries in the NHL are paid in U.S. dollars and the team also does much of its travelling in the U.S.