Bilbo bags one

Until recently, the biggest excitement in the history of Mosinee, Wisconsin (pop. 3,988 in the 2010 census) came on May Day, 1950, when local residents acting as communist invaders seized control of the town. These were the darkest days of the Cold War, when the unhinged fanatic Sen. Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin was whipping up …

The morning after the night before: Wait – Waite?

It’s as strange as Montreal without nightlife.             A day after goaltender Carey Price spends time working on a separate sheet of ice with goalie coach Stéphane Waite, after the organization decides Price should go back in nets against Ottawa despite his early season struggles.             Waite is fired. And his firing is announced after …

The Price isn’t quite right…

Those inane Google questions that pop up whenever you try to search something are, if nothing else, sometimes a key to what people are thinking.             When I checked Carey Price’s stats Friday, I found two beauties: Is Carey Price the greatest goalie in the history of hockey?Is Carey Price still good?             Mind you, …

Here ya go, Red – the players

My great and good friend, the late, much-missed Red Fisher, was a skeptic. He did not deal in rumours, he did not put up with fools and he was rarely if ever misled about the quality of a hockey team.         Red was the most influential journalist in the history of the game for many …

On this Blue Monday anniversary, something to cheer about

Here we are, 19 days into October. Your Monday Morning Quarterback has grown a year older. The leaves are falling. The world is upside down, the streets a masked parade of anxious souls. And it is 39 years since Blue Monday, the day the Dodgers and Rick Monday wrecked the Expos' World Series plans and, …

Molson stuck with Bergevin and now it’s paying dividends

Hating Marc Bergevin is a cottage industry in Montreal. There are niche broadcasters and columnists whose entire schtick is based on ripping the guy day after day after sorry day. It saves effort, I suppose, and thought, and dispenses with the need to actually know what you’re talking about – but it’s also ugly, unfair …

The MMQB… feeling a draft!

Ah, yes. The traditional October NHL draft is upon us, as we all wait breathlessly to see who the Canadiens will choose. Will it be another Louis Leblanc? Michael McCarron? Jarred Tinordi? I can hardly wait. For my part, I’ll sit this one out. Having prompted the Canadiens to grab Jesperi Kotkaniemi a couple of …

The Monday Morning Quarterback on Patrick Laine, Victor Hedman, the Ex-Rays, the Impact and more!

So you want to see towering Patrick Laine in a Habs uniform? Really, really, really? Okay then, here’s what you do: Repeat after me, bridles &&&& gals: Patrick Laine. Patrick Laine. Patrick Laine. Say it often enough and perhaps the deal will happen. Much as I dislike these exercises in futility, where people work up …

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you… a backup goaltender!

The last time the Montreal Canadiens had a really good backup goaltender, Barack Obama was in his first term as president of the U.S. It was actually possible to get through a day without a smartphone, the thoroughly icky Stephen Harper was prime minister and Corona was a damned fine Mexican beer. Fast forward 10 …

A loss that left the fans smiling…

So it’s over. Time to leave the carousel ride, step out of the bubble, squeeze in a little summer while there’s still time. (Just don’t plan a charcoal barbecue, because the world is fresh out of charcoal.) The Canadiens did you proud, ladies and gentlemen. They kicked Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to the curb …