I decided to focus on the positives in the aftermath of the Canadiens overtime loss in Game 7 to the Bruins on Wednesday night because I felt that the season, on the whole, was just that – positive.
The Canadiens did things very few people thought possible, including extending that series to seven games, and reaching overtime in that game to boot. A playoff series cannot get much closer, and the Canadiens competed hard.
The Bruins, too, proved something by shaking off a rough start to the series to win four of the final five games, and that most definitely deserves a good deal of praise. I questioned that team's mental toughness at the start of the series, and I thought the Canadiens superiority in that one area would allow them to win in seven games.
I can admit when I was wrong, and I was. Say what you will about the luck involved in winning overtime games, it also takes stones, and the Bruins did it three times in a row.
The final one required the most mental strength, because sitting in a locker room for a full intermission awaiting overtime when you were only 1:57 away from winning the series in regulation is not easy. The Bruins did it, and for that they earned a great deal of respect.
Gomez admits his failings
Less than 24 hours after a Nathan Horton shot glanced off the skate of Jeff Halpern and past Carey Price, the Canadiens gathered in Brossard on Thursday and held their final meetings with management and the coaching staff before facing the media.
I was on my way back from Boston when the spectacle in Brossard began, and by the time I got there at around 2 p.m., I had missed Scott Gomez pouring his heart out.
It's commendable that Gomez took responsibility for what was a horrendous season, one made even worse by the fact his salary dictates he be a productive player because in a cap world that is an unfortunate fact of life.
Gomez, however, had gone through this song and dance before.
Poor use of the past tense
Back on March 29, Gomez got an assist in a 3-1 win against the Atlanta Thrashers, a game that snapped the Canadiens three-game goalless drought. Aside from the assist, Gomez was a factor on practically every shift, showing a level of competitiveness that was sorely lacking most of the season.
After the game, Gomez spoke about his season from hell, how he was talking about it with his parents and couldn't believe what was happening, how Bob Gainey had offered to help him sort things out, how he finally accepted that invitation from Gainey and how he felt the game could have been a sign of things to come.
Except during that heartfelt and sincere admission of his own failures, Gomez consistently referred to his struggles in the past tense. As if they were over. As if he had overcome whatever it is that was hampering his ability to play to the level of his talent.
But he hadn't done that yet. All he'd done was play one good game.
Now, fast forward to Game 1 of the series with Boston, a game that was preceded by Gomez saying that the playoffs are the fun time of year where he excels.
His stats backed him up and in that one game Gomez did excel, forcing two turnovers that turned into Brian Gionta goals in a 2-0 Canadiens win.
Except again, Gomez's game went south from that point onward, as did his linemate Gionta's.
The two of them were on the ice for eight of Boston's 15 even strength goals over the next six games, and seven of those eight goals came in Games 4 and Game 7, the two most important games of the series. Over those same six games, Gomez and Gionta were on the ice for just two Canadiens goals, one of them on the power play and the other at even strength.
I decided to go back and look at those six goals in Games 4 and 7 to see just how negligent Gomez and Gionta were. Here's what I found:
Game 4
9:59 second period, Andrew Ference goal cuts Canadiens lead to 3-2
Gomez was the closest Canadiens player to Ference when he unleashed a bullet from the slot to give the Bruins life. It's hard to fault Gomez on the play, but he was drifting into his own end tailing the puck carrier Brad Marchand, who had a defender in front of him, when he dropped it to an un-checked Ference.
17:04 second period, Patrice Bergeron goal ties it 3-3
This was a goal that had Gomez written all over it. First, he had a chance at a loose puck sitting deep in his end, except he didn't go hard after it. Bergeron did, and beat him to the puck by chipping it to the side boards before heading toward the net. The puck makes its way around the zone, and Gomez is caught watching it as he stands right next to Roman Hamrlik as it makes its way behind the net to Marchand, who feeds it to a wide open Bergeron in front.
13:42 period, Chris Kelly goal ties it 4-4
Neither Gomez nor Gionta really played a role in this goal. Gomez did have a chance to check Kelly on the play, but his instinct to head toward the point was the right one because Travis Moen was deep in the Canadiens end and that point was uncovered. This one was more on Brent Sopel and Moen.
1:59 overtime, Michael Ryder wins it 5-4
I don't think I need to go into great detail on what happened on this goal because it's been picked apart to death already. P.K. Subban took a lot of heat for changing when he did as Gionta threw a saucer pass in Moen's feet and Moen ultimately lost the puck instead of getting it deep. The one peculiarity on this play is that once they saw a 3-on-1 was heading into their end, both Gionta and Moen headed straight back toward their net. Gomez, on the other hand, headed to the bench for a change even though he saw what was developing. The player who came on for him still wasn't in the frame when Ryder won it, even though the goal came after a missed shot by Rich Peverley and a pass from Kelly behind the net to Ryder in front, who had time to settle it down and fire it past a helpless Price. Gionta could have gone to cover Ryder, but he headed for the front of the net as an instinctive move when retreating to defend an odd-man rush. The pass went through him to Ryder waiting alone on the other side of the net. Gomez, meanwhile, was listed as being on the ice, but really, by the time the goal went in, he wasn't. And that was the problem.
Game 7
3:31 first period, Johnny Boychuk puts Boston ahead 1-0
While Gomez was the one chasing Marchand around the outside before he sent a pass over the Boychuk, he can't be blamed for the goal. Mike Cammalleri was supposed to be covering the point on this one and wasn't.
5:33 first period, Mark Recchi puts Boston ahead 2-0
Gomez had a shot at a loose puck that Ference one-handed into the slot to a wide-open Recchi, but it was again Cammalleri who lost his man here.
9:44 third period, Chris Kelly puts Boston up 3-2
Gionta is forced to play defence when Roman Hamrlik stays down on the side boards near the Montreal blue line after being hit by Kelly. Boston fans and media would have you believe this was a dive, but Kelly actually admitted after the game that he got Hamrlik with his stick. Regardless, Hamrlik could have gotten up far quicker than he did. Gionta lets Kelly go to the net unchecked, and that ultimately leads to the goal. But it's interesting to note that the centre on the line, Gomez, was the last man back defensively, gliding by as Kelly scores the go-ahead goal.
Defensive nightmare
Unfortunately, this was a pattern we saw from Gomez all season. His lack of production offensively slapped you in the face, but his lazy play on defence was perhaps a bit more subtle, yet equally egregious.
Of the Canadiens four highest-paid forwards – the veteran core – Gomez was the only one that had an on-ice/off-ice minus rating. How this statistic works is that each player is tracked for the number of goals for and against they are on the ice for per 60 minutes of ice time, and the same tracking happens for when that player is off the ice, then the two numbers are compared.
Tomas Plekanec had a plus-0.68 rating per 60 minutes of ice time over the course of the regular season, Gionta was at plus-0.32, Cammalleri was at plus-0.25, while Gomez was way behind at minus-0.95.
Gomez a popular player
Now, I don't want this to simply be yet another Gomez-bashing story, because we've had tons of those this season. I actually thought he played well in Game 7 in Boston in spite of all the Bruins goals he watched go in his net.
And it should be noted here that Gomez is an appreciated presence in the Canadiens room, at least as far as I can tell. Just one example I can give is Lars Eller talking about his strong playoff performance on Thursday and how his roller coaster ride of a season went.
At the beginning of the season, I remember asking him which veterans were helping him along and Eller didn't mention anyone in particular, though he did say he rooms with Gionta on the road.
On Thursday, Eller was asked the same question (by someone else), and he initially noted the strength of the group of leaders. But then he singled out Gomez.
"Especially Scott, he's been treating me really good," Eller said. "I was getting a lot of feedback from him, and he was one of the guys that was really helpful for me."
Salary strain to be felt next summer
But the fact remains that Gomez's lack of production is a massive problem because of his salary.
Pierre Gauthier was asked several times on Thursday about the Gomez situation, and though it was Gainey who pulled the trigger on the trade that brought him here, Gauthier's fingerprints are all over that deal as well. He was assistant GM and head of pro scouting at the time, and there is no doubt he endorsed the trade that sent Chris Higgins, Pavel Valentenko and, shockingly, Ryan McDonagh to the Rangers for Gomez, Tom Pyatt and Michael Cichy.
Gauthier acknowledged Gomez's failings and said the organization would work to ensure he will be better next season, something Gomez himself assured would be the case.
Gomez's cap hit of $7.36 million will complicate matters somewhat this summer as Gauthier needs to sign five defencemen to fill out his roster. But the hit will be felt most the summer after when both Price and Subban's contracts will be up, in addition to the contract of Lars Eller, who by then may very well be a player worthy of a big raise.
All options open
Gauthier said all options are open to him when it comes to improving the team, and when he was asked Thursday in general terms about the practice of hiding bad contracts in the minors, Gauthier did not dismiss it. The question was in general terms, but Gauthier surely knew it had a specific intention.
However, I don't feel that Gomez will be in Hamilton next season. I feel the team will give him a chance to bounce back, a chance to come to training camp prepared to make up for a season where he may very well have cost the team an additional round of playoff hockey.
While Gomez said all the right things Thursday, he is the only one who knows if he will make the most of that opportunity the Canadiens are giving him, an opportunity to re-establish his reputation as a useful player.
If he doesn't, if he gets off to a slow start to next season, it's not outside the realm of possibility that AHL bus rides could be in his future.
