by Jennifer Conway, Special to All Habs

Pierre Gauthier could learn a few lessons from Mike Milbury. If Gauthier isn’t careful, he could end up with a GM reputation just as poor as Milbury’s, despite being his opposite.

Where Milbury is loud and opinionated, Gauthier is not. Instead, he maintains an extremely low profile, quite often sticking to what appears to be a pre-prepared statement when facing the media. This is both a blessing and a curse. Where Milbury both gathered and lost supporters through his public statements, Gauthier remains aloof, and risks losing any fan support he may have at the moment. In the intense fishbowl that is Montreal media, Gauthier must be careful. Sometimes no answer is just as bad as the wrong answer. Rumours will run rampant, and will do as much credibility damage as one of Milbury’s remarks. Consider the following:

Milbury’s statement on signing Brad Isbister: “In so many ways, Brad was what we were looking for to fill out our defense. He’s reliable and plays with a lot of passion. He’s got tons of character. He also has two Stanley Cup rings and really wanted to be an Islander. There’s nothing not to like.” Note Milbury was able to point to past success and reliability, as well as the player’s own desire. It indicates he had done some sort of examination of the player, demonstrating that he has weighed the goals of the team with how well a player might fit. In this case, he was looking at a solid player who had championship experience.

Gauthier’s statement after trading Halak: “The decision is based on our projections and we are very comfortable with Carey Price. He’s a young man that has almost 150 games in the league even though he’s only 22-years-old. He’s got a few rounds in the playoffs, [and] he won a Calder Cup in the American League at a very young age. He brings a lot to the table. He’s young man that we think will be a good goalie in this League.” Gauthier couldn’t, or wouldn’t, say anything beyond the fact Price has experience. Gauthier’s position is inevitably neutral, and makes one wonder what exactly these projections are. It brings to mind Mom’s voice scolding, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” If a player has 150 NHL games under his belt, and the best you can say is “He won a Calder Cup,” you might want to reconsider.

This is an odd position for Gauthier to take, considering his past scouting experience. Having served as a professional scout for thirty years, Gauthier ought to be more comfortable pointing to what makes him so happy with Price. After all, it’s part of a scout’s job to evaluate a player’s skill and potential.

There is an insistence that the future of the Habs lies with Cary Price that calls to mind the Alexei Yashin contract Milbury orchestrated. Yashin too performed brilliantly (but not consistently) and demanded star treatment, pouting and throwing tantrums when he didn’t get his way. Price is not nearly that bad, but an awful lot of time and energy was poured into presenting Price as the next Dyden, despite his performance. It almost appears Price will get a large contract when the time comes, whether or not he seriously earns it.

Gauthier’s statement that he never spoke to Halak’s agent has also caused a furor. With his reluctance to elaborate, fans have taken it as proof that Gauthier doesn’t understand Halak’s value, or that he didn’t want to even try. When examined calmly, it indicates that Gauthier knew Halak’s price would be out of reach and therefore did not consider it worth wasting time over when there are other free agents needing attention. There are no easy options in the cap era, and there are few free agent possibilities that are affordable, so the Halak trade does make business sense.

Nevertheless, Gauthier still took a huge risk in trading Halak. While there is no appreciable statistical difference between Halak and Price last season, other factors have to be evaluated. Halak is older than Price and will therefore reach free agency first. Halak is also the darling of the moment, with the right to demand a pay and contract length increase. Halak was also eligible for arbitration, and there’s no argument it would have cost the Canadiens more than they may have wanted to pay. What Gauthier got in return for Halak isn’t a terrible deal at all. There is no reason to believe Lars Eller and Ian Schultz won’t develop into solid players, yet fans can’t help feeling like Halak was underpriced for no good reason.

Price continually teeters on the edge of being great, but will he finally achieve what Gainey and the Habs continually bill him as? It’s unlikely. The pressure of Montreal seems to bother him more than it does Halak, and even more so without a calming veteran presence. Will Alex Auld provide that? It’s doubtful.

Milbury lost his job as GM because he had a penchant for blockbuster trades that didn’t work in his favour, even after the internal budget restrictions were lifted. Milbury’s ultimate mistake was too much unwanted personal attention, and a rush to seek credibility for the team. Think about it: he traded Chara, Berard, Brewer, Redden, Kasparitis, Potvin, Luongo, and Jokinen. Off the top of your head, can you name anyone he got in return that was a big success on Long Island?

Gauthier’s downfall may come for the same reason, but from a different course. He too is trying to quickly improve and legitimise a team, but instead of learning to work with the press and fans in small ways, he’s attracting a lot of venom that could be avoided. The fans already dislike him, and he’s not doing any damage control. Trade the fan favourite if you must, but you still have to sell it to the fans, media, and potential free agents who are considering signing.

Don’t forget, Gauthier also traded Sergei Kostitysn as a punishment and to set an example for others. Kostitsyn behaved badly and didn’t work as hard as he should have; but Price acted the same way. Play the disciplinarian, but to allow it to appear as playing favourites is a dangerous game.

The image the GM presents truly does affect the perception of the team as a whole. Milbury presented an abrasive and nutty image that caused the Islanders to become somewhat of a laughingstock. If Gauthier is not careful, the rumours and fan venom will give him somewhat of an incompetent image as well, which will affect the team. Just as no one really wanted to play for a losing team with a nutty GM, not many will want to play for a struggling team with a GM who operates on mysterious internal criteria. What’s worse, the crazy you can see, or the crazy that lurks below the surface?

History doesn’t strictly repeat itself, but it contains lessons worth learning.