Article content

There was a scrum in front. Somewhere in there was a fat, juicy puck.

Out of nowhere, a bowling ball in a red shirt burst through the pack, crouched low. Half a tick later, the puck was in the net — and so was Brendan Gallagher.

Article content

Maybe the refs were too surprised to hand Gallagher the usual two-minute penalty for breathing on the goalie. The diminutive warrior has not been himself so far this season but that goal was vintage Gallagher.

Article content

As he skated away after the play, Gallagher wasn’t pumping his fist in celebration. Instead, he looked downright rueful, as though he was saying: “see folks? I ain’t dead yet.”

What Gallagher actually said was, “I was just happy to score. It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve played; it’s fun to score. It was nice to avoid the crossbar and nice to avoid the goalie. Thankfully, the puck went in.”

Thankfully for Gallagher, thankfully for his team. The Canadiens need Gallagher. They need his heart, his willingness to sacrifice, his leadership and the mayhem he creates around the opposing net.

Gallagher is beginning to click on the Vet Line with Tanner Pearson and Sean Monahan and with Kirby Dach out for the season, it couldn’t come at a better time.

Poetic justice: Joey Saputo wears his passion for his CF Montréal team on his sleeve.

Back in the day when it was the minor-league Montreal Impact, it worked. Saputo put his money where his heart was, the team had some success, and matches were a relatively inexpensive family evening out.

Unfortunately, Saputo has failed to grow with his club. He’s still the guy who runs the organization as an extension of his own hot-wired nervous system. Major League Soccer is not quite Major League despite the presence of Lionel Messi — but it’s the big time in North American soccer and teams can no longer be run on the whims of the owner.

Article content

Article content

When Saputo’s CF Montréal club was ousted from the playoffs by the Columbus Crew Saturday evening, it was as clear an example of poetic justice as you will find. Saputo’s hot temper drove coach Wilfried Nancy out of town following the most successful season in the club’s history.

The result was predictable, right up to the Crew’s comeback 2-1 victory Saturday, with Nancy patrolling the sidelines for Columbus.

Under Nancy this season, the Crew have nearly matched CF Montréal’s success last year, proving that Nancy’s banner season in this city was no fluke. Without him, Montreal went 2-13-2 on the road for a miserable total of eight points — this for a club that was an astounding 11-2-4 for 35 points away from home under Nancy in 2022.

There were other factors in the team’s downfall, especially the sale of key players. But this debacle is squarely at the feet of Joey Saputo. He owns the club’s small but loyal coterie of fans an apology.

Lies, rumours &&&& vicious innuendo: Hats off to the great Christine Sinclair for an unmatched soccer career. Next? Let her clean up the mess at Canada Soccer. …

Article content

So far, it appears that Kent Hughes (or the HuGo team of Hughes and Jeff Gorton, if you prefer) has come up with two more terrific pickups in Tanner Pearson and Alex Newhook. Add Mike Matheson, Sean Monahan, Johnathan Kovacevic and Kirby Dach and Hughes is batting almost 1.000. …

The Canadiens need to fix that drop-passing power play and the fan consensus is that assistant coach Alex Burrows has to go. Fair? Unfair? They’ll tell you that special teams are a group responsibility, but when your power play tends to go in reverse, something has to change. …

So far, we have been (apologies to Martin Short) positively whelmed by Connor Bedard’s NHL debut. There’s a much bigger (ahem) debut coming this week, when 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyana takes the court for his first NBA regular-season game. Here at MMQB Central, we’re counting the hours. …

Imagine being a fan of the Maple Leafs, the Blue Jays — and the Buffalo Bills. You’d have white hair by your 25th birthday. …

There must be fans still following this dreary and interminable F1 season, Max Verstappen’s Sunday drive around the planet. The question is: why? …

Article content

In a league full of mediocre quarterbacks like Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill, etc., it’s a shame that former B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke is buried on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster. In our humble opinion, it’s a criminal waste of talent for a guy who could be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. …

&&&& the newest entry to the Fennis Dembo Hall of Name: Alabama defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry. Not for the Kool-Aid but for his handle, “Ga’Quincy.” When your name is Ga’Quincy, you don’t need a nickname.

Heroes: Brendan Gallagher, Jake Allen, Sean Monahan, Tanner Pearson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Jonathan Sirois, Lamar Jackson, Maggie Mac Neil &&&& last but not least, Christine Sinclair.

Zeros: Joey Saputo, Alexander Ovechkin, Rasmus Andersson, Jim Harbaugh, Derek Carr, Deion Sanders, Mike Babcock, Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.

Now and forever.

[email protected]

twitter.com/jacktodd46

Article content