by Coach K, AllHabs.net
SAINT-LAZARE, QC – I spent Wednesday night at the Verdun Auditorium. It’s was supposed to be a fun night out at the Montreal Juniors game with my Novice C team, and it was. The Juniors won 2-1 against the Halifax Mooseheads, and my group of eight and nine year olds went home ecstatic.
However, I realized from my Twitter feed that the real fun was going on at TD Garden in Boston. An old school, 1970s-style battle that was laced with more physical altercations than tie-tac-toe passes. I managed to PVR the game and watched it after the final siren had gone off. While I thoroughly enjoyed the game, it was the body language on the bench that got under my skin.
Namely, it was the behaviour of both Scott Gomez and Andrei Kostitsyn, who haven’t showed up consistently since the beginning of the year. Earlier this season, I assessed Gomez’s body of work, and gave suggestions to get his game back on track. While I can certainly assess his on-ice issues, when the problem is between a player’s ears, the problem becomes much deeper. That same assumption can be said about Kostitsyn, who hasn’t been the same since he was pulled off a line with Tomas Plekanec and Mike Cammalleri early this season.
Last night, after being benched for the majority of the third period, both players decided it was a good idea to laugh while making comments to each other on the bench. They were laughing in the direction of Canadiens’ coach Jacques Martin. I know from personal experience that there is nothing to laugh about when your line is a combined -12 in a hockey game, and your backside is glued to the bench. When your teammates have been bullied all night and the scoreboard is tilted in your opponent’s favour, there’s nothing to laugh about. When you’ve been useless all season, and contribute very little towards your team’s success, instead of laughing, you should get your head out of ass and get to work.
Although I don’t agree with many of the strategic systems and decisions of Coach Martin, he has been in this league far too long to be ridiculed by a couple of players that are not giving him their best. Oh, they can have their opinions of him as well, but those are opinions that should be kept in secret, and beyond the eyes and scrutiny of the media and the public. Their behaviour in Boston is as unprofessional as it gets.
Looking at it from an organizational perspective, as an NHL executive, there would certainly be repercussions for both players. Considering their lack of performance all season, I would be placed Gomez and his useless $7+ million contract on waivers, and let him rot in Hamilton for the remainder of the season. You might think I would be sacrificing the Canadiens’ chances to make the playoffs, but considering his performance, I would beg to differ. As a whole, the Canadiens need to maintain the organizational standing and show Gomez who calls the shots.
And when I think about Kostitsyn, he should be given the same treatment as his younger brother, Sergei, and be shipped out of town for a bucket of pucks and a box of cigars to celebrate his departure.
All this being said, the fact that the team was man-handled by the Bruins last night should be taken in the most serious light imaginable. With the Habs’ blaring lack of size and grit exposed last night, other teams vying for playoff spot will expose it, and use it to their advantage.