Jeff Gorton admits it: there’s tension at Habs

Early last week, our colleague Maxime Truman wrote that the Habs are a bit of a bipolar team, in the sense that they can go from one extreme to another at any time. And since then, it’s been as true as ever: after horrible performances against the Flyers and Sharks, the Habs have played great hockey against three good clubs in the Oilers, Avalanche and Devils… before being horrible against the Senators and Bruins.

If logic holds, then, the Senators better be ready for tomorrow night, just like Patrick Roy’s Islanders on Thursday night. But at the same time, talking logic with the Habs is risky business.

That said, since the loss to the Bruins, things have been shaky. Arber Xhekaj’s recall may have had something to do with it, but the mood in the dressing room is different.

And if you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe Jeff Gorton… who said much the same thing.

Speaking on TSN 690 today, Gorton admitted: there’s tension in the team right now.

In fact, it all started on the night of the game against the Bruins,” explains Gorton. Samuel Montembeault thought the guys had given up in the third period, and that didn’t necessarily sit well with the rest of the group.

Even at practice this morning, Gorton(who reiterated that a trade is not imminent, by the way) felt that there was lingering tension within the team… but he’s not ready to say that’s a bad thing.

For him, it’s a learning moment for the group, who have to find a way out of it. It’s as simple as that.

It’s at times like these that the team’s leadership group is going to have to rise up, in the end. Captain Nick Suzuki comes to mind, of course, but his assistants (Mike Matheson and Brendan Gallagher) have a role to play as veterans, as do the David Savards and Josh Andersons of the group.

I can understand Gorton seeing this as a learning curve, and he’s probably right… but the Habs need to keep this tension from getting out of hand.

And with Thursday night’s game against the Islanders under the microscope (which will add pressure), it’s going to be a big week for measuring this team’s character. No, a convincing win over the poor Senators tomorrow wouldn’t go amiss…

In brief

– Perhaps the Blood Drive will have done the club some good. Congratulations to the many donors, by the way: it’s a very nice gesture.

Thank you to the 684 donors at today’s Canadian Blood Drive!

The generosity of each and every one of our fans will help save up to three lives #GoHabsGo

– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) January 23, 2024

– JiC would give Sean Monahan $25M over five years. Would you?

A 5-year, $25M contract for Sean Monahan? https://t.co/ihxJEET9tG

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) January 23, 2024

– Speaking of Sean Monahan, Frank Seravalli thinks the Habs can get a first-round pick for his services.

– Connor Bedard out for at least six more weeks.

– Very interesting.

À VOIR | “I would have liked it if he had relaxed a little, but…” – Frédérick Royhttps://t.co/HsZS5NWoTh

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) January 22, 2024

– The Tennessee Titans have their new head coach.