It doesn’t take much in Montreal. Two periods into a 4-2 road loss in Detroit and the fans turned savage.
The Habs, they said, were an “embarrassment.” They were “unprofessional.” They weren’t trying. They were mailing it in.
Never mind that the Canadiens were plainly exhausted. That they had just put together as fine and courageous a stretch of play as you will see, rescuing this team from the ashes of a lost season. That they were visibly running on fumes, with battered bodies and legs that had to feel like rubber bands.
Since the 9-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Dec. 12 that seemed to trigger the turnaround, they have played 19 games, travelled nearly 25,000 kilometres, criss-crossed time zones repeatedly, come from behind again and again, faced a murderer’s row of the league’s toughest teams and won most of them.
But after two rough periods, the knives were out. Steve Shutt said it best: “The fans are behind us, win or tie.”
That will never change. In the real world, the Canadiens have to survive the next eight games before the break, beginning with three very tough opponents in a row in the Devils, Jets and Wild. Then Kent Hughes has to figure out how to approach the trade deadline and decide whether it’s worth pursuing the biggest name among players who might be available in the coming weeks: one Sidney Crosby, one-time fan of the Montreal Canadiens.
Crosby to Montreal is a hardy perennial that has taken on new life with the Canadiens’ unexpected run toward the playoffs and the Penguins with an aging core and a dearth of young talent. It starts with my friend Brian Wilde, who made the case for a Crosby trade in his Call of the Wilde column for Global.
“What tremendous excitement this particular acquisition would bring,” Wilde wrote. “The Montreal Canadiens acquire Sidney Crosby at the trading deadline. Crosby is 37 years of age with three seasons remaining on his manageable contract. His Penguins team is aging out with a terrible pipeline of prospects. His childhood favourite was the Canadiens.
“While Crosby doesn’t fit into the long end of the Montreal rebuild curve, he is the perfect player on the short end. The Canadiens need a viable centre. Crosby is still playing complete hockey at an advanced age, showing no signs of slowing down. His experience up the middle, and in winning championships would be massive to youngsters in Montreal learning how to win.
“For GM Kent Hughes, there is no reason not to fight for Crosby. The club is playing like they are ready for him. The biggest obstacle for Hughes is when GM Kyle Dubas finally understands that his club is cooked, he will have about 20 suitors for his star.
“Hughes has to win the Crosby Sweepstakes. The price tag will be high, but not as high as when he was younger. At 37, one can command only so much.”
My first take was “no way!” I don’t want to see anything that disturbs the chemistry of this team. Not in decades have we seen a club so tight, with every player carrying his own weight and meshing seamlessly with everyone else under the coaching of Martin St. Louis.
On the other hand, we’re talking about Sidney Crosby here. Had the suggestion come from almost anyone but Wilde, I might have ignored it as trade deadline fluff. But Wilde knows this business and he thinks about what he says, which he why he commands respect. Wilde believes that the asking price for Crosby would be two top-tier and two second-tier players — which puts the Canadiens in the mix because they’re one of the few teams with stockpiled prospects and draft picks.
His proposal would include two quality prospects not from the group that includes Hobey Baker nominees Jacob Fowler and Michael Hage, injured defenceman David Reinbacher and Ivan Demidov — perhaps Owen Beck and Logan Mailloux, packed with the two first-rounders the Canadiens hold in the coming draft.
“The trade proposal has risks,” Wilde admits, “and that’s why I’m not saying you gotta do this. It’s an interesting time for Hughes and a moment that he might feel the momentum of his team right now knowing he is adding Demidov and the third and fourth lines are better than most teams in the league.”
Hmmm… a second line of Crosby between Patrik Laine and Demidov for the next two seasons? With a more experienced Lane Hutson driving the offence from the blue line?
In most circumstances, reversing course in the midst of a patient and clearly successful rebuild could be catastrophic, but the potential for this team with Crosby would be mouth-watering. Yes, there would be competition — but Sid himself will hold all the cards. Like Lewis Hamilton driving for Ferrari, Crosby may prefer to wind up his career with his childhood team.
It promises to be an interesting spring. A battle for a spot in the playoffs, a fascinating trade deadline, more of this young bunch learning to win in the world’s toughest league. No reason to whine about every loss along the way.