Molson serves up a fine 'vin

So we suddenly had the news delivered Geoff and Serge had found their man - and horrors - Pierre McGuire had been the runner-up. Sulking or not, the first grumpy interview he did was with an Ottawa radio station.

For one I never saw the attraction to this guy or the animosity and bad feelings he aroused in so many. Yes he is a very knowledgeable and opinionated hockey analyst but he's never been an NHL general manager. Most likely he never will be unless a very close friend becomes a team president or he starts chumming with an old fashioned 'baron' owner like Snyder or Leonsis.

There I go again, much as the Montreal chattering class did, talking about the runner up rather than the selection. Marc Bergevin is well known to insiders and most fans (he did play 20 years after all) as a steady defenceman and has had a meteoric rise through the management ranks since he retired.

"Raised" by Rick Dudley (now a scout with the Make-me Laffs), Bergie is returning the favour with a job offer to the carpeted one.

I was never ever a fan of Dudley the GM and would point to his failures in Florida as a cautionary tale. But Bergevin likes him, is indebted to him and maybe if Rico is kept on a short leash and doesn't demonstrate the Peter Principle he will be okay. Difficult for one guy to wreck the whole show (unless his name is Gainey or Gauthier or Martin).

Thankfully Marco B is a strong believer in the idea that the Canadiens should return to their identity as Quebec's team and scouting (and drafting) Quebecois players should take if not a priority then at least more importance to the CH. Serge had mentioned this as well as the GM and coach being able to speak French and Bergevin has reiterated that political correctness. No reason for the separatistes to squawk, at least over that aspect of the team. Now back to the picket line you twits.

Bergevin was nervous at his introduction and his poor English shocked me. Since then he has been more relaxed but I continue to be surprised a gars who played two decades in the NHL can't speak English much better than that. Unlike French Canadians however, all I care about is winning. If they had hired somebody who was unilingual French but the second coming of Sam Pollock the dynasties would soothe my Angryphone bitterness.

Because all that matters is winning. Bonne chance dans notre cirque sans pareil Marc. "They love you win or tie." I think Larry Robinson said that. Hint hint.

Ooof!

Sens deserved better but Rangers won when they KO'd Alfredsson.

Anderson was superb and very gutsy. Reminded me of a Cheevers-Worsley type of scrapper. Never quit, never choked. Magnificent.

Michalek was a disappointment in spite of a few glimmers tonight. Turris had his coming out party, Neal was impressive as expected, but Spezza? I think it's time to deal him.

Maybe Spezza and a youngster for Rick Nash. You can't build a team on the likes of that guy, he took a big step back in his 'development.' Selfish and immature, does not, cannot understand what it takes to win in the playoffs. The refs tolerate everything but murder. The ice is bad. Linesmen choke. It's tackle football crossed with murderball. No time for fancy-dan training camp thread-the-needle miracle passes and silly practice tricks.

Definitely not leadership material. Leaders deliver.

Spezza delivered an egg.

Speaking of karma

The Anglo dimwits crowing about Tim Thomas's early exit might want to help clean up the streets of Montreal this morning ha ha ha.

Dave Stubbs his toe

Haaaaa Dave Stubbs of the Gazette blocked me on Twitter.

As we know, tolerance in Quebec is a growing problem LOL.

Among the foremost practitioners of intolerance are Liberal Anglos. Complicit in the demise of their own community. (Even 'collaborators'  in some cases. Remember a certain Anglo head of Office de la Langue Francaise?)

Free speech = them preaching *down* to the unwashed.

No wonder English Quebec has lost 800,000 people to TROC. Devastating and irreversible.

Note: you're only a sportswriter, don't get so carried away. You're this close to Milt Melchnick and Wilde Brian's megalomania. Pretending to be nice, even milquetoast, the next minute tarring all fans with an obscene epithet.

Calling fans "a**holes" betrays your Twitter fatigue. If you're not cut out for the harsh and sometimes crude stuff on the Internet you shouldn't be (t)here. Say hi to Chuck Angus ha ha.

(By the way I don't think it was any one thing that pushed Stubbsy over the edge but I did question whether he had exercised good judgement in joking about North Korea where over two million people have been starved to death by their cult of the personality-Maoist-Chinese supported dictatorship of over 60 years. Was that so awful?)

Why do these dim bulb sportswriters stray from sports so often? Melnick, McKenzie, Wilde, Stubbs, Boone,  most of them seem to find it too tempting to preachify and fall on the swords of their own ignorance and or biases. Stick to sports. Hickey and Fisher do a great job of that.

Ill Liberal.

CHARA GOT NOTHING

Remember Dale Hunter KO'ing Pierre Turgeon into the boards after a goal and getting half a season? Commuted after 21 games. Yet that was not as bad as what Chara did in four successive (and escalating) attacks on Pacioretty. And he got nothing. The NHL is sick and whether it's Shamaham or Campbell or whoever there is an awfully long way to go.

No more insiders, there needs to be a Judge Gomery or Dubbin calibre jurist in charge of applying the rules fairly and consistently.

Movin' on Up

Canadiens have a terrific opportunity to move up in the draft. Sam Pollock would do it. The question is just how badly would he swindle the Edmonton Oilers out of their #1 pick in the 2012 draft?

This is the Canadiens' first shot at a #1 pick since 1980 when Irving Grundman & Co. made the colossal blunder of all time by picking disappointment Doug Wickenheiser over hometown garcon and future Hall of Famer Denis Savard.

In my view the situation is dire. Canadiens haven't had a big centre since Bobby Smith and more properly Peter Mahovlich. And we all know Le Gros Bill. Every team needs size down the middle. ( Yes Captain Damphousse was a superb and nasty surgeon and goal scorer but he wasn't big.)

While I'm a huge fan of David Desharnais (and his line) we cannot and should not keep him and Thomas Plekanec. Yeah Pleky is a fine player who has always done what was asked of him, he's a team guy, great skill, soldiered on in spite of 20+ line combinations this year, killed penalties, yada yada yada.

Plekanec has never delivered in the playoffs. Period. You can't have Plekanec and DD as your two top centres. The Habs are not going to trade for two or three 6'3" or 6'4" 230 pounders to offset this disadvantage.

Easier to get one big centre.

Trade Plekanec and our #3 pick to Edmonton for the number one pick.

Elementary my dear Watson. Sammy would do it.

2012 playoffs and NHL violence

Yes I'm kind of shocked and offended at some of the things I've seen this year in the playoffs.

No, I'm not some hand-wringing Roy McMurtry 'skirt' who wants to see the game emasculated. But neither do I like to see the cross checks to the face, head shots, punches and face washes after the whistle (especially once the linesmen have arrived to ensure your safety) and bullying in general.

The two referee system is, as Chris Nilan proclaimed again yesterday on the Milt Melchnick show, broken. It cannot work. Refereeing is a subjective personal thing, inflected with style, it's not just a skating rulebook. No two refs would (or could) call a game alike. They're human. And they make mistakes. But that is what the player safety and discipline end of things is for. To spot and punish egregious fouls that have happened, whether the referees caught them or not. But please, go back to one referee.

Since Zdeno Chara's campaign of violent revenge (4 separate incidents including the final attack) against Max Pacioretty culminated in that near-tragic assault at the Bell Centre and the NHL gave him a free pass, many have taken issue with violence and the NHL's confused and confusing and often inconsistent application of their rules (quite frankly often ignoring common sense). Double standards and preferential treatment(s) tarnish the league's process.

For those who see these playoffs as the hockey equivalent of Armageddon, calm down. Yes they have been pretty wild but if you can't remember what Boston did (and got away with) last year your memories are short indeed. The NHL licensed a return to bully-mugging hockey and the Bruins beat up the Canucks and took the Stanley Cup. Teams noticed. Anaheim won a few years back doing the same thing. Chicago with Byfuglien doing his thing also snatched a cup with a mix of talent and brutishness. This is not without precedent nor are they the worst examples.

Anybody over 40 can surely remember the Philadelphia Flyers of the 1970's and their carnival of carnage. How about the Canadiens-Bruins or Canadiens-Nordiques battles of the '80's? My personal favourite member of the Canadiens is John Ferguson. Why? Because he was the league heavyweight champion (at 190 pounds) and protected Beliveau and Cournoyer as well as others. He wasn't a goon, he was a 'policeman.' There's a big difference. He protected superstars and or 'gentle' players like Bobby Rousseau and J.C. Tremblay.

There is a big difference between frantic, frenetic physical play and boarding from behind and head shots. None of it is new. Our tolerance is thankfully lower now. BUT: one of the biggest problems in hockey today is the instigator rule which continues to enable punks from Holmstrom to Clutterbuck. Rescind that foolish rule and a lot of the garbage will disappear as the players can police the game better than the league and its referees. A single fight often calms the waters and metes out justice, something the NHL brass continues to have incredible difficulties with.

The playoffs this year have proven that.

If things boil over, throw the book at them. Sooner or later they'll get the message. But there must be consistency and one law for all. Chara included.

Now, how about ten games for Torres?