Habs fans rejoice!  You’ve seen Scott Gomez take the puck from behind his net and lose it at the opposing team’s blue line for the last time. News came Sunday that Gomez would not be joining his teammates at training camp. Instead of wearing the colours of hockey’s most prestigious team, Gomez will be hunting, fishing and playing Beer league hockey in Alaska. In the press conference announcing the decision, Bergevin said Gomez took the news like a pro. No surprise since getting paid a lot of money to not do much is the Gomez way.

Gomez, the highest paid player in franchise history, averaged a measly 0.55 PPG during his stay here. It’s really a shame it didn’t work out for him and it’s difficult to put a finger on the reason for the drop-off in points. When a player’s production takes a step back in the later parts of their career, it’s generally because he “lost a step”. This doesn’t appear to be the issue with Gomez. Even last year he remained a very fast skater. Instead, it was probably a mental issue of some sort.  Maybe the fans, media, and Jacques Martin’s system broke him. Who knows? LOLs all around if he returns to his previous form with his next team.

The decision is bittersweet as he was apparently very well liked in the dressing room. Pacioretty seemed particularly disappointed in the decision and said Gomez really helped him along in his transition to the NHL. Gomez is also hilarious, take a minute and check out this YouTube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBo3Yp-m3ps

So now that it’s all said and done, where does the trade rank up with some of the franchise’s modern day worsts? Here we go!

5. MTL trades Chris Higgins, Ryan fucking McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko, and Doug Janik for Scott Gomez, Tom Pyatt, and Mike Busto (He really lived up to his name)

Well this trade ranks 5^th, for now. Ryan McDonagh was the true prize in this deal. Last year, McDonagh had 44 points, was +25, and played on the top pairing of the Eastern Conference’s best team. If McDonagh keeps progressing and becomes an annual Norris candidate, tables will be flipped. This trade could ultimately move up to #2. It’s not as if McDonagh’s emergence was a surprise either. He was drafted before Subban in the 07 Draft and was considered the Canadiens’ top D prospect when he was traded. Desperate Gainey = brain farts.

4. MTL trades Chris Chelios and a 2nd round pick (Mike Pomichter) for Denis Savard

This is the kind of trade that most likely excited Habs fans since they were getting back one of the league’s top forwards and a Quebec native. Hindsight being 20/20, this trade was terrible because Chelios became one of the league’s best Defenseman in Chicago.

3.  MTL trades Vincent Damphousse for a 1st round pick (Marcel Hossa), a 2nd round pick (traded), and a 5th round pick (Marc-André Thinel)

This trade sent the Canadiens right into their dark age of the early 2000’s. Although it may have made sense at the time, it turns out that Hossa was a big bust. Damphousse went on to play 5 good seasons with the Sharks. Trading your captain and a fan favorite should have garnered a better return.

2. MTL trades John LeClair, Eric Desjardins, and Gilbert Dionne for Mark Recchi and a 3^rd round pick (Martin Hohenberger)

Eric Desjardins went on to become the Flyers’ best Defenseman for a decade and LeClair scored 50 goals in 3 consecutive seasons. Mark Recchi was great; too bad he was traded back to the Flyers 4 years later.

1.  MTL trades Patrick Roy

Patrick Roy for Thibault, Kovalenko and Rucinsky…cringe…