Touched a nerve there, eh?
Denis Coderre was elected the mayor of Montreal on Nov. 3, and after about a week on the job, he’s managed to anger the most powerful cultural force north of the border — the Montreal Canadiens. During Sunday night’s game against the New York Islanders, Coderre took to Twitter to share his criticism of a certain under-performing player, posting, “Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to [the minors] for David Desharnais please…”
Desharnais has just one point through 17 games this season and coach Michel Therrien has been steadily scaling back his ice time. Coderre’s comments seem perfectly normal if they came from any of the twenty thousand plus at the Bell Centre, but when the mayor of Montreal rips one of the Habs, everybody loses their minds.
“I’m very, very upset about that,” Max Pacioretty said.
Pacioretty is a long-time linemate of the struggling Desharnais and added, “To bring down a player — such a great person, such a great player, such a hard worker … Davey’s a true competitor and he’s a great player and a great teammate, and that’s just so uncalled for… It’s only going to make matters worse.”
Defenseman Josh Gorges also rushed to Desharnais’ aid, as did coach Therrien, saying, “I really believe this is inappropriate from our mayor.”
Montreal is currently fifth in the Atlantic Division, and just one point ahead of sixth-placed Ottawa. While last season’s rookie sensations Alex Galchenyuk (3-11-14) and Brendan Gallagher (8-4-12) have continued right where they left off, an unbalanced scoring attack and a defensive corps only now getting Alexei Emelin back has resulted in middling success for last year’s Northeast Division champions.
It’ll be tough enough for Montreal to claw out a playoff spot from old rivals Boston and Toronto, as well as from newcomer Detroit and upstart Tampa Bay.
Apparently it’s even tougher with a mean ole’ mayor on your back.
