from Jack Todd at the Montreal Gazette,

Question: So what do the Vatican, the Kremlin and the Montreal Canadiens have in common?

Answer: Sorry, that’s a secret.

Your Montreal Canadiens have become such a secretive organization, I’m surprised they aren’t suppressing player stats. (How many goals does Max Pacioretty have? “Sorry, we can’t divulge that information at this time.”)

The questions about this reeling franchise are multiplying like fungus. Answers? Sorry, fans — that’s none of your business. Just pay through the nose for your tickets, buy our $400 jerseys, cheer when the scoreboard tells you to cheer — and keep your mouths shut.

Since late November, this team has produced more unanswered questions than wins. This isn’t about the decisions made. Some of them are pretty weird, but at least the Canadiens have not made a generational blunder, like taking on Dion Phaneuf’s ludicrous contract and helping a division rival out of a salary-cap mess at the same time. (And let’s not even think of comparing the Marc Bergevin regime to the Pierre Gauthier horror show.)

Team management, pitch perfect for most of the past three seasons, has suddenly become tone deaf. The insistence on absolute secrecy in one important file after another only makes it worse.

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