TORONTO — Smartest man in the world has to be Kirk Muller, who got out of Montreal just in time.
At some point or another Canadiens general manger Pierre Gauthier is going to run out of scapegoats, and at some point or another ownership might cast a critical glance at the way this unusually unpopular individual within the industry is running the operation, but at the same time it hardly is accurate to cast Mike Cammalleri as some sort of a victim as the organization devolves into rubble.
The winger has been around long enough and is savvy enough to know his critical take on the team would punch his ticket out of town and sooner rather than later.
There seems to be an issue whether Cammalleri said precisely what he was purported to have said in his translated and retranslated statement that contained a variation of the word “loser” almost as many times as the Canadiens have been losers this season (27 of the first 43 games), but the context unmistakably was get-me-out-of-here.
The 2011-12 Canadiens: Lost in Translation.
Cammalleri is one of those players who had to be bribed to go to Montreal as a free agent, signing a five-year, $30 million contract (the largesse of previous GM Bob Gainey) that he is now halfway through as he returns to Calgary. The Rangers bribed players to come to New York for years. It always ended bloody.
And that’s the way it is ending for them in Montreal, where Cammalleri scored 26, 19 and now nine goals after getting 39 in his walk year for Calgary, whence he returns in the deal in which the Canadiens likely got at least equal value and at half the cap hit in Rene Bourque in addition to a quite useful second-round pick.
But the tumult is not so much about the deal as it is about the ideal of Les Canadiens that has been shattered and that clearly is beyond the current regime’s ability to restore.
* Of course the Rangers are monitoring the situation in Nashville as it applies to defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber (as is every team in the Stanley Cup mix) and yes, the Coyotes’ Shane Doan would be the perfect top-six fit coming up to the Feb. 27 trade deadline if a cost-effective deal could be made.
Though history suggests the Blueshirts’ Glen Sather and the Coyotes’ Don Maloney are more than comfortable transacting business together, it is unknown whether Doan, an impending unrestricted free agent who has played his entire career in Winnipeg and Phoenix and owns a no-move clause, has any interest in, a) moving; or b) moving to Manhattan, even for the short term.
In the meantime, don’t be the slightest bit surprised if the Rangers, who have gotten next to nothing in terms of offense from their bottom two lines (not to mention the power play), bring back veteran winger Vinny Prospal as a rental from Columbus if the price is reasonable.
If the Rangers need to add depth up front for any sort of serious run through the tournament, and they do, I’d see what it would cost to rent Dominic Moore from the Lightning, and I wouldn’t wait very long to place the call, either.
* So who is out of Tampa Bay first, Guy Boucher or Vincent Lecavalier?
This assumes amnesty buyouts in some shape or form accompany the next CBA.
* There is one rule when it comes to watching the Bruins’ home TV broadcast, only one way to avoid being insulted, and that is to put the audio on mute.
* It hurts my ears when any 22-year-old says the words, “It’s a business,” as Kyle Turris did at the Garden on Thursday, but my eyes were opened wide by the center, a terrific and dynamic player whose acquisition by Ottawa from Phoenix appears to be a home run for Senators GM Bryan Murray.
* Snapshot. Elite Eight: 1. Boston; 2. Vancouver; 3. Chicago; 4. Detroit; 5. Rangers; 6. San Jose; 7. St. Louis; 8. Philadelphia.
* John LeClair didn’t only convert Eric Lindros’ feed for a goal in the outdoor alumni game against the Rangers, he has converted to becoming an agent, joining Lewis Gross’ firm in New Jersey.
* Oh. By the way. There are several Rangers’ alumni steamed, and justifiably so, at the way Mike Keenan shortened the bench in the third period of that contest.
Seriously, you don’t see Hector Lopez being called back for a pinch-hitter in the Yankees’ old timers’ game, do you?
* Former U.S. Marine and Purple Heart Winner Neal Auricchio, Jr., was attacked and beaten in Philadelphia following the Winter Classic for no reason other than for wearing a Rangers’ jersey.
* So maybe the TV networks, including the one owned by Ed Snider’s corporation, can finally stop glorifying the Broad Street Bullies?