It is no coincidence that Craig Rivet evolved into his current status as the Captain of The Buffalo Sabres.
He was a roommate and close friend of ex- Canadiens Captain Saku Koivu and the pair were consummate professionals during their respective tenures in Montreal. If Rivet had not be traded – he surely would have become a candidate for the Captaincy of the present day Habitants. Ironically, the player the Habs received for him – Josh Gorges , has chameleoned into a player that one day will be in the running to skipper the good ship Glorieux.
First things first.
Gorges, a player who has grown into one of the more dependable players on the Habs will have to wait his turn – or should he…?The only player on the team that has been with the club longer and performed just as or more consistent than Gorges is Andrei Markov. The team is obviously better when Markov is playing and Andrei is one of those players cut from the same mold as Bob Gainey. ‘Do as I do ‘ is the method that Markov uses to gain the respect of his teammates and because he ‘does what he does’ night after night – the players tend to listen when he speaks.Great players are able to compete at high levels – Captains, on the other hand, can compete above everyone else but they also posses the ability to see the game in it’s entirety.More importantly , they can take that vision and instill it in those around them. Markov is one of ‘those’ guys but appears reluctant to take on the responsibilities that come with the job. Sure he would be a great Captain yet if placing the ‘C’ above and to the left of the the number 79 ‘CH’ crest parlays into a concentration problem for Markov during games – ‘thanks but no thanks’ should be Andrei’s response to Coach Jacques Martin‘s demand.
Who does that leave for the vacant position and what qualities should the Habs be looking for when they choose a Captain?.
Leadership is something that you want. The chosen player must be able to lead by example, in other words – let his skates, stick and /or shoulder pads do the talking. There is no point in getting up in the dressing room and rallying the troups if your name is Elton John when it comes to body checking, Celine Dion as a goal scorer or Micheal Buble as a skater. All three may be crowd pleasers yet not everyone , especially teammates – love a Diva. Six time fifty goal scorer Guy Lafleur was the type of player that teammates respected on the ice but in the room and off-ice – Lafleur needed to be left alone. For that reason and that reason alone – Guy would have not been a good Captain. The Flower was someone who was in his glory as a spoke rather than the wheel. When Lafleur notched a goal, he received the accolades from his mates in an ‘aw…shucks’ kind of way. He led by example but ask him how he played the game or made a pass and he would not have a clue. Instinct was Guy’s best friend and that ‘ami’ was rather shy dealing with teammates and the press. The very ingredients that made Lafleur a ‘Superstar” were the same pieces of the puzzle that were also his downfall. Passion and instinct led and continue to lead Lafleur into formidable endeavors yet also bleed into abrupt statements and an inability to see the big picture.
Experience is also something that a team requires in their leader. A player who has been to war more than once, a player who has fought the battles in the boardroom and in the backyard, a player who has see ‘the whites of their eyes’ – a player that has won.Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, Hal Gill and Travis Moen are those players on the current roster of The Montreal Canadiens. Problem is – they are not true Habs. The group are beginning only their second season receiving e-mails from Pierre Gauthier and if the management of Les Habitants names one of them to the ‘helm of the ship’, some of the ‘partisans’ of the storied hockey club may choose to purchase their ten dollar beers from someone else rather than The Molson Clan – the owners of the franchise. Not that it should matter as Gionta, Gomez, Gill and Moen have all one won Stanley Cups with New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Anaheim respectively with Gomez and Gionta holding hands in the swamps of New Jersey.
Out of the bunch – the pair with the most chance on becoming ‘Napoleon’ are Gionta and Gill. That’s not to say that Gill has much of a chance both in physical size (6’7″)and leadership(he tends to have too many off-nights during the regular season) – he just has more chance than the rest of them because there has been no more consistent play-off performer in the league the past two seasons than Hal.
Scott Gomez is a very talented skater and playmaker who is responsible alone for twenty of Gionta’s points per season. Problem is that Gomez and his less than a point a game production, combined with his seven million dollar a season salary doesn’t jive very well with the Habs faithful. Given the fact that Gainey was the G.M that had his pocket picked by New York Ranger G.M. Glen Sather in the signing of Gomez, Scott’s choice to lead the team would be as pleasant as a tooth extraction while being forced to watch the film Showgirls over and over. The Habs faithful continue to be ‘ on the fence’ judging Robert Micheal Gainey‘s tenure, Gomez’s chances are nil.
Of the Cup winners… that leaves Travis Moen. Moen is the type of player that every decent G.M. should want on his team. He plays hard and does his job day in and day out. If the Habs were a Mom and Pop organization that ruled a corner store then Travis would be the guy who shows up every night at closing , sweeps and mops the floor, straightens up the shelves and never steals a thing. He knows all the ins and outs of the business yet if Mom or Dad put him in charge of accounting – the trio would be looking for work within the month. Moen is a foot soldier and not a General – bless his heart.
The General in the bunch and the only player to match Napoleon in size but not heart is Brian Gionta. At 5″ 7″ and a clone of Henri ‘The Pocket Rocket’ Richard – Gionta is the very definition of what a Captain’s picture looks like next to the description of the word Captain in the dictionary. Talented ? Check. Passionate? Check. Character? Check. Leads by example? That’s check with a capital C as the name Gionta should be spelled with a ‘C’ rather than a ‘ G’. That is how obvious the choice is for Jacques Martin, Pierre Gauthier and The Brothers Molson. In one season with the team – Brian has won over every fan and made the most loyal Hab watcher turn red in embarrassment with our choices of the team’s best players in recent years. Compare if you will…Koivu or Gionta? Kovalev or Gionta? Zednick or Gionta?The only forward that mirrors Brian’s talent, passion and heart in the past ten years in the bleu,blanc et rouge is Mark Recchi.Both average eighty points a season, both bang and crash with the best of them, both lead by example and both have the ability to see the big picture. They are both the type of players that don’t say much but when they do – even Maxime Lapierre listens!
If The Canadiens choose to wait until November and the return of Markov from the ‘infirmiere’ to place a C on his shirt and Andrei decides that the decision won’t affect his play, the choice is a good one.
If Brother Markov declines and The Habs opt for Gionta , the choice is a good one with Josh Gorges sporting a huge ‘A” on a chest that should be puffed with pride.
Patience Josh, patience…