This is a strange bit of news from Habs Inside Out (via Puck Daddy):

A Swedish newspaper this morning reports that the NHL has blocked Georges Laraque's intended move to AIK Stockholm. "It's a complicated situation we can't resolve for the moment," the boss of the Swedish club says.

The problem seems to revolve around Laraque's no-movement clause, which is puzzling since he'd presumably waive that clause if he wanted to play in Sweden. If BGL waived it, then it's the league or the Canadiens that have an issue with this.

If the information is indeed accurate, Laraque remains on the Canadiens' 23-man roster and his salary continues to count against the cap.

On our FTR Roundtable, we discussed the pros and cons of Montreal's timing considering Laraque's family was involved in the Haiti earthquake. Obviously, both parties aren't happy with the fallout from that, and I think there's a reasonable argument for each case. Does that factor into this "No Sweden for you!" decision?

The only semi-logical reason I can think of behind something like this is a bit of Old Boys' Club mentality within the league office. Otherwise, if Laraque is willing to waive his no-movement clause, why stop him? The move certainly wouldn't hurt anyone -- well, there's the argument that it would hurt AIK Stockholm, but that's their prerogative.