Another day, another dramatic practice in Montreal.
This time, the drama surrounded Canadiens forward Scott Gomez and assistant coach Randy Ladouceur. Ladouceur, upset with Gomez’s perceived lack of effort during a drill, let the struggling center have it courtesy a verbal tirade.
Gomez -- he of the one goal scored this season -- responded with a tirade of his own.
Depending on who you believe, this incident was either an ordinary, run-of-the-mill argument or a precursor to something bigger.
Player and coaches (read: people that generally tend to understate everything) say it was no big deal -- head coach Randy Cunneyworth smiled when discussing the shouting match and Gomez said stuff like this “happens every day.”
But reporters (read: people that generally tend to overstate everything) contend this was a blowup for the ages. Many media members thought Gomez and Ladouceur were going to come to blows; there was also this, from the Globe and Mail:
Veteran team observers say it’s been many years since they’ve seen a spat like this, and compare it to a memorable 1996 argument between then-coach Mario Tremblay and enforcer Donald Brashear. That one got so bad that Brashear was sent to the dressing room, and was traded a few days later to the Vancouver Canucks.
We probably won’t see a similar situation unfold here, because nobody’s trading for Gomez’s contract. That thing is like the gym membership from hell.
PHT Related
Watch P.K. Subban and Tomas Plekanec “fight” in practice
Stop the presses: Scott Gomez scored a goal