Does anyone still wonder why no free agents want to play in Montreal?

Last night during the Sharks/Kings game I was checking headlines during a break in action, and ran across James Mirtle’s piece on the (at that time) breaking crisis in Montreal.

It got my attention, because it seemed to be a lot more than “gee, this kid likes to party”. Looking at the quotes from the French press, like Jaques Demers ” I swear to you, I thought about Mr. Beliveau tonight … and I just hope I’m dreaming.” or Michel Bergeron’s “it looks like the foundation is going to be shaken. Not just for the Quebecois but for anyone who wears the Canadiens sweater around the country” had me wondering just what was going down. (if you haven’t seen the details, Mirtle’s got a good overview, including how the information flowed out into the public eye, so you can get a sense of how this evolved over time).

My first speculation, honestly, was some kind of legal problem involving claims of non-consensual activities between the players and some “friends”. Maybe it’s unfair of me, but honestly, with the rumors of the partying and the history of complaints against pro athletes about unwanted companionship — whether it’s the players from Duke or Kobe Bryant or any number of quietly handled incidenents — it’s always something I worry is going to end up in the press.

Then word started to come out that a mobster was involved and the police were meeting the team at the airport. Invovled with drugs? Were the players playing mule with their gear bags? Oh, the mind wanders after a couple of coffee-and-Bailey’s… But I was expecting the worst here.

Silly me. I should have remembered that this was the Montreal French Press and stopped worrying. For all Quebec professes to love it’s Canadiens, there are far too many there who aren’t afraid to use them to grandstand and use as a target for their public rants (thereby making sure the journalists get plenty of attention, which they seem to crave). The press isn’t alone here — the police have been known to grandstand and time things to maximize the pain of the team, and let’s not forget the politicians that have been happy to jump on the Canadiens and hockey players when people aren’t paying enough attention to them (just ask Shane Doan).

So I guess I should have really expected that the real problem, the one that caused Bob Hartley to claim he was going back to Atlanta (he was kidding, but that’s the level of rhetoric here, folks) was that a couple of the Canadiens players liked to party and liked girls.

Oh, and one of their party pals happens to have organized crime connections, but there are no connections known by the police beyond partying, girls, and some bootleg vodka the guy brought in for them.

Oh, the horrors.

Yes, the French Press is at it again. We can all stand down and stop paying attention for now. Next time, we should maybe be smart enough to not pay attention to begin with.

Does anyone still wonder why the Canadiens have so much trouble keeping free agents or attracting them to the team? Who other than Saku Koivu is insane enough to want to play in a city with newspapers this hostile? And better, they’re hostile because they love the team. Ah, the irony. the bullshit, the insanity.

Now, am I saying that this is not an issue at all? No — there are some significant issues here. The players are associating with someone they should know better than be around. This kind of “not thinking clearly” seems endemic in Montreal — remember Jose Theodore? There’s a problem with players enjoying the joys of the city of Montreal a bit too much there.

That’s a tough nut to crack; you can only talk and lecture so much. Ultimately it comes down to knowing the personality of the players and only bringing in those that know how to handle the situation appropriately. Montreal has to find a way to help players learn to avoid these problems, but ultimately, this is up to the individual players themselves.

Especially in a town like Montreal, where the players not only live in a fishbowl, but one wher ethe fishbowl has a 24×7 webcam and paparazzi waiting for an unprotected moment, and writers and broadcasters who seem to want to make their names by putting these people up on pedestals and then using them for target practice.

In reality? There’s a whole lot of “nothing to see here”, other than a bunch of press and broadcasters taking a molehill and turning it into a ski resort. Here’s hoping that it stays a molehill and there aren’t more and dirtier details to be found out at the investigation continues, but right now, it seems like this whole “foundation is going to be shaken” disaster scenario is a figment of the overactive imaginations of the French Press (again) insisting on proving there’s nothing they can’t turn into front page headlines.

No wonder nobody wants to play in Montreal. With “friends” like these, would you want to?

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  • MHC

    Seriously, with most of today's hockey players, who wouldn't want making millions without having any pressure whatsoever from fans and media, in a half empty arena, like if you're a tourist or on vacation all season long? You can cheat the fans and owner(s), they won't even know any better or care. This is a dream come true: a one-way check!

    The fragile hockey markets that keep losing money with empty arenas like Nashville and Tampa Bay, for example, can thank places like Montreal, Toronto, etc. and the players who help those organisations rake in the money in those towns. They can also thank those towns' “barbaric” hockey fans because they help the rest of the league stay afloat and bail them out. Like the Montreal Expos who got to stay alive in baseball years ago thanks to the New York Yankees and L.A. Dodgers markets, for example, they get handouts from some of the money those clubs make to keep their teams and dead markets alive, so it's a good thing some hockey players can stand all this inhuman pressure, isn't it?

    Yes, when the story hit the newsstands, some media and fans probably exaggerated what really happened. Then again, keep in mind that La Presse published only what was verifiable and provable according to law (it is said that there are other things but these are harder to prove). The Frenchie newspaper only published what it couldn't be sued for. The police have seized documents and recorded phone conversations of what went on.

    No, the players didn't do anything wrong, just hung out with a guy, Pasquale Mangiola, that is heavily involved with organized crime (Hells Angels and street gangs), selling dope and credit card fraud. The latter shows just how much the Kostitsyn brothers were either unaware of who they were dealing with or they weren't all that terribly bright: would you give your credit card numbers and your financial documents to someone who has done some jail time for credit card fraud? I know I wouldn't…

    The players association, the hockey clubs AND the NHL itself, at the start of every season, warn players of these kinds of parasites wanting to become best buddies with hockey players and professional athletes to get a bit of glamor in their lives. Guess those players weren't listening…

    I do believe that a player can do whatever he wants off the ice and has complete right to his private life but if what he does in his spare time has continuous negative impact on his performance, that's when it should stop. Not only is the player not playing to his full potential (thus making it hard for him to get a better contract next time around), he is betraying his team and teammates, but he is also betraying the fans who pay a very high price for those seats at games. Clearly Sergei Kostitsyn was not the same player as last year and has been sent to the minors to dwell, hopefully, on his performance and we can only hope he understands and gets his priorities straight. His brother Andrei has had what best could be described as an “up and down” erratic kind of year so far.

    This isn't the first time some of the Habs players have an “intense” night life going on: the difference lies in the fact that all the running around didn't interfere with their game and if it did, they got a one-way ticket out of the team. Sometimes being traded was the right thing to do and the player got enough of a jolt to change his life around and become more dependable for his new team.

    I would also argue that organized crime means illegal bets as well. Anyone remember Pete Rose? Closer to hockey: Rick Tocchet and Janet Gretzky? Or what if the players are asked one day to tank a few games here and there like the 1919 Chicago White Sox? That's why not only the Montreal Canadiens are looking into it and want the police to keep them informed of any new developments, but the NHL is taking this seriously as well, as is the players' association.

    Just like not everyone can play for the Yankees, Boston Red Sox or Dallas Cowboys, not everyone can play for the Canadiens. To play for this team takes guts, determination and stamina to be able to face this kind of pressure, day in, day out. But like some players say, it's a tough place to lose but it's the best place in the world that can be when you win. And the fans are not as rabid as you make them out to be: a marginal player like Tom Kostopoulos is one of the crowd's favorites because he has a lot of courage and determination, always gives his best for his team and isn't a cheater.

    And that's the way it should be: who wants fat cat tourists when you once had Maurice Richard, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Doug Harvey, Guy Lafleur and others with as much courage as they had playing on this team?

    If Bettman had two brain cells left to rub together to get a spark going, he would close down those lame duck hockey markets and move them to Canadian cities where the teams would be sure to survive and do well: when hockey only comes in fourth or fifth in terms of fan interest like in Phoenix, how can it do well anyway?

  • http://behindthenet.org JoshC

    You'd be surprised how many California kids are starting to get NCAA scholarships or play in the WHL — the NHLers will come. Same thing with Virginia and Texas, though players from those states tend to go strictly college. (Hell, the LA Kings have the NHL's first native North Carolinian playing for them.) The problem with your position is that its logical conclusion is that the NHL should never have exposed these kids to hockey, and instead should have left those slots to the kids from traditional hockey hotbeds who, in the real world, weren't good enough to compete.

    It's amazing how people who claim to be protecting the game really want it to be populated by lesser athletes and offered to fewer spectators, as long as they all look and act the same. What is it that you really like — hockey the sport, or hockey the quasi-homogenous culture?

  • MHC

    Seriously, with most of today's hockey players, who wouldn't want making millions without having any pressure whatsoever from fans and media, in a half empty arena, like if you're a tourist or on vacation all season long? You can cheat the fans and owner(s), they won't even know any better or care. This is a dream come true: a one-way check!

    The fragile hockey markets that keep losing money with empty arenas like Nashville and Tampa Bay, for example, can thank places like Montreal, Toronto, etc. and the players who help those organisations rake in the money in those towns. They can also thank those towns' “barbaric” hockey fans because they help the rest of the league stay afloat and bail them out. Like the Montreal Expos who got to stay alive in baseball years ago thanks to the New York Yankees and L.A. Dodgers markets, for example, they get handouts from some of the money those clubs make to keep their teams and dead markets alive, so it's a good thing some hockey players can stand all this inhuman pressure, isn't it?

    Yes, when the story hit the newsstands, some media and fans probably exaggerated what really happened. Then again, keep in mind that La Presse published only what was verifiable and provable according to law (it is said that there are other things but these are harder to prove). The Frenchie newspaper only published what it couldn't be sued for. The police have seized documents and recorded phone conversations of what went on.

    No, the players didn't do anything wrong, just hung out with a guy, Pasquale Mangiola, that is heavily involved with organized crime (Hells Angels and street gangs), selling dope and credit card fraud. The latter shows just how much the Kostitsyn brothers were either unaware of who they were dealing with or they weren't all that terribly bright: would you give your credit card numbers and your financial documents to someone who has done some jail time for credit card fraud? I know I wouldn't…

    The players association, the hockey clubs AND the NHL itself, at the start of every season, warn players of these kinds of parasites wanting to become best buddies with hockey players and professional athletes to get a bit of glamor in their lives. Guess those players weren't listening…

    I do believe that a player can do whatever he wants off the ice and has complete right to his private life but if what he does in his spare time has continuous negative impact on his performance, that's when it should stop. Not only is the player not playing to his full potential (thus making it hard for him to get a better contract next time around), he is betraying his team and teammates, but he is also betraying the fans who pay a very high price for those seats at games. Clearly Sergei Kostitsyn was not the same player as last year and has been sent to the minors to dwell, hopefully, on his performance and we can only hope he understands and gets his priorities straight. His brother Andrei has had what best could be described as an “up and down” erratic kind of year so far.

    This isn't the first time some of the Habs players have an “intense” night life going on: the difference lies in the fact that all the running around didn't interfere with their game and if it did, they got a one-way ticket out of the team. Sometimes being traded was the right thing to do and the player got enough of a jolt to change his life around and become more dependable for his new team.

    I would also argue that organized crime means illegal bets as well. Anyone remember Pete Rose? Closer to hockey: Rick Tocchet and Janet Gretzky? Or what if the players are asked one day to tank a few games here and there like the 1919 Chicago White Sox? That's why not only the Montreal Canadiens are looking into it and want the police to keep them informed of any new developments, but the NHL is taking this seriously as well, as is the players' association.

    Just like not everyone can play for the Yankees, Boston Red Sox or Dallas Cowboys, not everyone can play for the Canadiens. To play for this team takes guts, determination and stamina to be able to face this kind of pressure, day in, day out. But like some players say, it's a tough place to lose but it's the best place in the world that can be when you win. And the fans are not as rabid as you make them out to be: a marginal player like Tom Kostopoulos is one of the crowd's favorites because he has a lot of courage and determination, always gives his best for his team and isn't a cheater.

    And that's the way it should be: who wants fat cat tourists when you once had Maurice Richard, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, Doug Harvey, Guy Lafleur and others with as much courage as they had playing on this team?

    If Bettman had two brain cells left to rub together to get a spark going, he would close down those lame duck hockey markets and move them to Canadian cities where the teams would be sure to survive and do well: when hockey only comes in fourth or fifth in terms of fan interest like in Phoenix, how can it do well anyway?

  • whatever

    I'm sure the players would all rather play in San Jose or Phoenix or somewhere else where nobody cares about hockey at all.

    • http://www.chuqui.com chuqui

      well, if you read or listen to player interviews, many of them actually do. Feel free to do the research. I have.

      or try this: count the number of unrestricted free agents the Canadiens have signed in the last ten years. Now, count the number of Canadiens players that have left via free agency in the same period, or traded away because the team knew they couldn't re-sign them. Compare the two numbers.

      Added bonus: count how many players in the last 25 years have retired as captain of the Canadiens.

      • whatever

        No, really, I'm actually am sure many really rather would play somewhere where nobody cares about hockey. And it's sad for the game.

      • http://www.chuqui.com chuqui

        would have replied sooner, but I was at the hockey game. If you really think nobody here cares about hockey, then I feel sorry for you — you don't know much about these areas, then. And what's sad for the game are people who think the way you do, that it should crawl into the foxholes where it's strong and not try to grow and be stronger.

      • whatever

        Well I actually do know quite a bit about the area, and you can't deny that far more people are interested in hockey in the “traditional” markets than in newer areas like San Jose, Phoenix, Florida, etc.

        Proof? How many NHL players come from the Bay Area? If hockey is strong there, then shouldn't there be lots of kids growing up playing hockey and making it to the NHL?

        Meanwhile there's huge demand in Canada, but the NHL insists on having teams where the fans generally aren't, in a misguided attempt to appeal to a fan base that – with the exception of pockets of great fans such as yourself, no question – largely ignores the game.

      • http://behindthenet.org JoshC

        You'd be surprised how many California kids are starting to get NCAA scholarships or play in the WHL — the NHLers will come. Same thing with Virginia and Texas, though players from those states tend to go strictly college. (Hell, the LA Kings have the NHL's first native North Carolinian playing for them.) The problem with your position is that its logical conclusion is that the NHL should never have exposed these kids to hockey, and instead should have left those slots to the kids from traditional hockey hotbeds who, in the real world, weren't good enough to compete.

        It's amazing how people who claim to be protecting the game really want it to be populated by lesser athletes and offered to fewer spectators, as long as they all look and act the same. What is it that you really like — hockey the sport, or hockey the quasi-homogenous culture?

      • Mike

        It isn't that nobody cares, but the fan base is not as fanatical as in Montreal. The core fans pack the building in San Jose, and raise the roof when the team does well, but with very few exceptions, they let the players have a personal life.

      • http://behindthenet.org JoshC

        During the Montreal press's ritual denunciation of Danny Briere for signing with someone other than the Habs in summer 2007, it occurred to me to do some similar research.

        In the last ten years (1999-2008), the Habs have had eleven first-round picks. Six of those players, including the last three in a row, were American; three were European (including Andrei Kostitsyn) and just two were Canadian. Even Lou Lamoriello in New Jersey only took two Americans (out of his eight picks) in that time span. I don't think it's happenstance that the Habs take a high percentage of players who, by nationality, might seem less immediately susceptible to the media lunacy surrounding the team — if only because they're less likely to have studied the language and their friends back home don't get RDS or TSN.