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Friday, December 17, 1999
Montreal media go for the net
These are terrible times for the Montreal Canadiens.
But not for the Montreal media. As far as they're concerned, these are great times.
What could be better than a full-blown goaltending controversy that they didn't even have to create? Like manna from heaven, this one just descended on to their laptop computers and they're loving every minute of it.
The question is whether Jeff Hackett, who sees himself as the Canadiens' No. 1 goaltender, should maintain that status over Jose Theodore, 23, who started last night against New Jersey, a game the Canadiens lost 2-1 when the Devils scored with 21 seconds remaining.
The Canadiens face the Maple Leafs tomorrow at the Air Canada Centre.
Canadiens coach Alain Vigneault has spent the past few days insisting that Hackett is ahead of Theodore on the depth chart, while desperately trying to avoid adding fuel to an already raging fire.
Vigneault said Wednesday that, not long ago, the media accepted the situation. "They said that Jeff is No. 1 and that Jose is efficient and that everything else is just talk."
The controversy had been simmering since late November when Theodore resurrected an apparently dead Montreal team with a three-game sweep on the West Coast, then made it four in a row when the team returned home. But it came to a full boil this week when Hackett announced he wanted more playing time.
The catch is that Theodore has been magnificent lately and has the numbers to prove it. He's 5-3 in his past eight starts and also came in to relieve Hackett on Saturday when the Canadiens were down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings, a game they eventually lost 4-2. Hackett is 1-2-1 in his past four starts.
As might be expected, Hackett has not been in the best of moods and the media have made mention of this. But Vigneault has insisted that Hackett's approach to the game is a good one.
"He appears to you to be too emotional, but to me this is an attribute," Vigneault said. "He takes everything seriously, but I don't want that to change. He is competitive to the bitter end. That's how I like him."
What is being overshadowed in all this is the fact the Canadiens have done a phenomenal job of staying within striking range of a playoff spot despite a string of injuries that is unmatched in NHL history.
No Montreal player has been in the lineup for every game. Some of the lesser lights have avoided injury, but in many cases, they wouldn't have been with the team had everyone stayed healthy. The iron man is Martin Rucinsky, whose concussion kept him out only one game.
Most of the top players were out of the lineup last night, including stalwarts such as Saku Koivu, Brian Savage and Vladimir Malakhov, who are on the shelf long-term.
Patrice Brisebois, who missed most of the season recuperating from back surgery, played only four games before suffering a sprained wrist on Monday. But he played last night and is likely for tomorrow's game.
In the possible-and-fairly-likely category are Scott Lachance and Turner Stevenson, both of whom have been out with back problems, as well as Shayne Corson who has a bruised foot. Scott Thornton (groin) is definitely out as are Trevor Linden (ankle) and Oleg Petrov (knee).
Despite 205 man-games lost to injury, the Canadiens somehow continue to hang in. When they win, it's invariably a boring, low-scoring affair. Of their 32 games, they have scored two goals or fewer 24 times.
That's one of the reasons the state of the goaltending provides such good fodder for a controversy. If the Canadiens don't get great goaltending, they don't have a chance.
And there's no doubt the media are on safe ground by supporting Theodore. When the Canadiens made their annual visit to the children in Sainte-Justine Hospital on Wednesday, Theodore was mobbed, not just by the children but also by their families and the staff. Those close to the Montreal hockey scene say Theodore is the most popular player in town, having displaced Koivu.
But if Hackett is no longer the No. 1 goaltender, then he'll probably ask to be traded, although he has not done so yet. That's not the kind of dilemma Canadiens management wants to face at this stage of an already difficult season.
But it's the kind of development that keeps the media grinning from ear to ear.
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