The former AHL MVP is eager to contribute to the Canadiens' cause and prove his worth from the start.
"I'll do whatever they need. I know in the minors I've been able to score, but I wouldn't say necessarily that's my game. I take pride in faceoffs, shutting down other guys and killing penalties. I love killing penalties as much as I love being on the power play," mentioned Varone. "If there's a hole that needs to be plugged, I can definitely move into a spot and do that. I'm hoping to be able to show that I can do that."
There were a few key reasons why the veteran centerman chose to pursue his career in Montreal.
Chief among them was perceived fit and past experience playing against his new employer.
"I'm a smaller guy, but I have skill and I play with grit. It seems they build their team on that. As far as guys being small in stature, they play a lot bigger than they are. That's not always appreciated, but you can tell in this organization that it is," explained Varone, who stands 5-foot-10 and tips the scales at 193 pounds. "Playing them last year, they're relentless, they fly around, they're hard on pucks. You also saw a huge growth in the team. It's going to be good."
Being reunited with Canadiens assistant coach Luke Richardson was also a factor in returning north of the border.
Richardson was Varone's bench boss with the AHL's Binghamton Senators in 2015-16.
"I was with Buffalo and I got traded to Ottawa and sent down to Binghamton. He made it real easy right off the start. As soon as the trade happened, he gave me a call and said, 'Hey! I'm going out to dinner. Would you like to join me?' You could tell right off the bat he's a very genuine guy with his players. He's the type of guy you'd run through a wall for," praised Varone. "He demands a lot, but he's always there to back up his players. If you make a mistake, he's the first guy to pick you up. He's one guy that I've always remembered playing for."