Kamal Rehman: I think it comes with the territory of being a Montreal Canadien. Some of them are so outlandish that one can tell they are just rumours. Some pique my interest, and I’ll see if there is anything to said rumours. The rumours about Habs players’ personal lives are unfortunate and don’t interest me at all. Keep it to hockey, and I’m okay with them.
Omar White: Rumours come with professional sports, especially within such a marquee organization like the Montreal Canadiens. However, I think we can all admit that the scope of the team is a lot more magnified than others. Trade rumours go hand-in-hand with the territory, and obviously, the major ones involve Max Pacioretty.
Additionally, it’s a double-edged sword in the fact that the Habs never really come out and deny the funky rumours that make the rounds on social media. The team’s Twitter account shut down the talk of Bergevin and Julien skipping Pacioretty’s golf tournament and Allan Walsh squashed the Jonathan Drouin injury buzz. But there’s no way for any of it to stop and it’s not necessarily the team’s prerogative to step in front of every single rumour. That said some of the more personal ones have been ridiculous and I think when it gets to that point where the safety of a player is put in jeopardy, speaking out would be effective there.
It’s about making sure the team is performing and is in the right headspace. No one knows how they handle the rumours, but it can’t help. However, there’s no real way to prevent any of them from being created or spread. It comes down to whether those who read the outlandish rumours believe them