from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- If the Canadiens did not hire Gorton as GM because of his inability to communicate with the fan base in French, couldn’t they have hired an interpreter? Gorton never struck me as much of an administrator in New York. Glen Sather and then John Davidson had that responsibility with the Rangers while Gorton operated as GM.

But now that appears to be a large part of Gorton’s role in Montreal. He will be the conduit from hockey ops to ownership, a role he did not have with the Rangers. He will have responsibility for hiring the scouts and player-personnel people, duties he did not have in New York.

I’m not suggesting he won’t be successful in this role, only that he is untested in these areas, and in the areas he is tested, he won’t have final say.

Mais pourquoi?...

- Five times within two months, P.K. Subban has used his skates or legs to kick an opponent’s feet out from under him after the latest episode in Winnipeg on Friday night. The Devils defenseman took out the Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers 1:17 into the third period, and there was nary a peep from the officials working the game or from the NHL’s hopelessly dysfunctional Department of Player Safety and its overmatched leader, George Parros.

Please do not insult me by telling me Subban’s latest escapade does not fit the rulebook definition of a slew-foot. In the first place, since when do NHL referees call games by the rulebook? Secondly, who cares? Subban is a menace. He is a recidivist who apparently cannot or will not control himself....

more on each of the above...

Below, watch the Subban incident...