Hockey

“Stop reading these idiots”: When a player’s wife criticized the Montreal media
Marc-Olivier Cook
“Stop reading these idiots”: When a player’s wife criticized the Montreal media
Credit: Screenshot / YouTube

Do you remember Vladimir Malakhov?

We're talking about a player who played for the Canadiens in the 90s. He wore the Habs jersey from '94-'95 to '99-'00, and while he didn't necessarily dominate the NHL, he had some respectable years in Montreal.

The Russian – who played defense – still collected 44 points (13 goals) in 74 games during the 97-98 season. That's no mean feat.

But Malakhov's time in Montreal wasn't always glorious, either. At one point, things got awkward between him and the Montreal media because he didn't speak English very well… And this prompted him to stop giving interviews to journalists.

And according to the player, who spoke to Daria Tuboltseva(RG Media), this led to said journalists criticizing him more often than not. This had an impact on Malakhov, who even wanted to retire at one point… but his wife told him this:

Stop reading these idiots! – Vladimir Malakhov's wife

Malakhov explains in the interview that he got his game back after he stopped reading journalists' commentaries… and that he got back on track with them.

We know that the pressure can be enormous for a player in Montreal.

Especially for a guy who doesn't come from North America and arrives here with language difficulties. The media coverage is intense and we know that can have an impact on a player's performance too.

We've seen so many examples of this in the past, after all.

That said, there may be a link to be made with Ivan Demidov because he's just arrived from Russia and is still learning English. But the difference is that times have changed… and the players are much better surrounded off the ice too.

The guys are a little more protected, in a way. And that's a good thing, because it can make it easier for them to adapt to the market – which can be really special at times.

People like it when the Canadiens win. But we know how things can turn out when the team is losing…


Overtime

– So much the better!

– That's right.

– Good question.

– One of the biggest deals in NHL history.

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