Jack Todd: The Habs need to make a few moves during the Olympic recess, if not before

Article content

It says a lot about your hockey team when you can turn a 5-0 laugh into a nail bite in the span of a single period.

Article content

It tells you something when your CEO is sick with COVID, yet he is taking the time to do phone interviews with handpicked journalists to give his opinion on things.

It tells you something when you have a young talent who can be the defender who moves the puck that your team desperately needs and is playing very well in a short call-up, but is still on the bench for a minor error, which jeopardizes his development. long-term for the short-term safety of the coach.

It tells you something when your owner is chasing butterflies in Costa Rica or visiting an ashram in Punjab or whatever he is doing that has kept him out of sight for weeks during a snowball catastrophe.

Above all, it tells you something when your hockey team is 5-15 after 20 games, on track for a season of less than 50 points and a lottery pick just over four months after playing in the Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Article content

If there is someone left at the Bell Center capable of making decisions, there are a few calls that should be made:

With the focus shifting to the long-term development of young players, is it helpful for Dominique Ducharme to send Mattias Norlinder when he’s out of sync with Ducharme’s spectacularly failed system?

Given the Logan Mailloux debacle and Alex Galchenyuk and Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s questionable drafts with the number three picks, are Trevor Timmins and Marc Bergevin the people you want in charge next time?

Given that this is a team that can take off with a 5-0 lead, is it conceivable that having a real captain on the ice could help?

And is it possible to trade off Geoff Molson for George Gillett Jr., who was more fun and, well, better at work?

Article content

I do not claim to have all the answers. I know the NHL has a very long Olympic hiatus between February 1 and February 26 and if I were the man in charge, it would be when I would make some moves, if not sooner.

In the meantime, your Montreal Alouettes: Yeah, they blew it at Molson Stadium on Friday night. Yes, the generally reliable coach Khari Jones made some lousy decisions.

But my faithful teammate Zeke Herbowsky assures me that with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the weekend, the Alouettes wouldn’t have had a home field for their playoff game, anyway.

It’s tough going to Tim Horton’s field and coming out with a win, but the Als have done it before and have the talent to do it again. We have faith in Jones Bunch.

Article content

The real question for the IOC: It is not the welfare of Peng Shuai, it is the reason why China was awarded an Olympic Games for the second time, when the former did not bring any improvement in the human rights situation within China, or with the Chinese treatment of Tibet. and the Uyghurs.

However, it is easier to make the world care about the fate of one person than it is to focus on millions. Peng Shuai’s 30-minute call with IOC chief Thomas Bach solves nothing. The world needs to see Peng clearly free and not under duress from either side. Until she is flown to a neutral site and allowed to have an unrestricted press conference with someone other than the person who helped deliver the Olympics to China in the first place, we cannot be sure that she is a woman. free.

Article content

The message from the IOC and its sponsors to the Chinese government has to be simple: no to Peng Shuai, no to the Olympics.

Lies, rumors &&&& vicious innuendo: The image of victorious Canadian soccer players diving into snowbanks to celebrate on a frigid night in Edmonton is one we never thought we’d see. At least not when the celebrators are from the men’s team. …

NHL Player Safety, whose motto is to be as useless as possible in all aspects of the game, needs to crack down on PK Subban, the newly crowned Sultan of the Slew Foot. …

Riding on ice is one thing: off the ice, we’re thrilled to see him finally speak out about racism. In 2017, Subban declared that he would “never” kneel in protest during America’s anthem, but his is one of the most influential voices in hockey and he can make a real impact if he so chooses. …

Article content

If you think “Fix You” is going to fix the sick Montreal Canadiens, you might be interested in investing in this swampy land I own in Florida. Bland lyrics and catatonia-inducing melody aside, this is a situation that won’t be cured with a pound of schmaltz.

Heroes : Cyle Larin, Atiba Hutchinson, Alphonso Davies, John Herdman, Kim St-Pierre, Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa, Lewis Hamilton, William Stanback, Garbine Muguruza, Vivianne Miedema &&&& last but not least, Peng Shuai.

Zeros : The Chinese government, the IOC, Geoff Molson, Marc Bergevin, Trevor Timmins, Dominique Ducharme, Aaron Rodgers, Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least Jeffrey Loria. Now and always.

[email protected]

twitter.com/jacktodd46