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Breaking News: Markov Allegedly Confronts Price; Locker Room Split?

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I wasn't going to post a blog today but this needs some attention... according to Tony Marinaro on the Team 990, Andrei Markov confronted Carey Price after the 4-3 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.

Allegedly, Markov told Price "Play with more heart, or stay home.. we don't need you." (source).

Following this comment, Tony claims that half the locker room backed Price, the other half, Markov. Marinaro then implied that this confrontation could have been one of the deciding factors behind the demotions of Pacioretty and D'Agostini to Hamilton, and that there might also be friction between Markov and his defense partner (also Price's best friend), Josh Gorges. He then went on to say that the only thing he wasn't able to confirm was which side Jaroslav Halak took.

Everyone needs to listen to this on the Team990's website.

I will update my blog a little later, but it seems to me that Tony is making a bigger deal out of this (if it's even true) than it is. Even Dave Stubbs on Twitter is quietly implying that he doesn't believe the report, or at the very least that he is also skeptical.

Tony has spent the last half hour defending himself against callers who are upset that Tony would even report something like this. Whether it's true or not, and whether it's as big of a deal as Tony claims it is remains to be seen, but it's just another example why this team will never succeed the way it's structured. Whether it's a case of an internal fight that really is that big of a deal, or the media making a bigger deal of things than they need to, it's just another day in the Montreal Canadiens Circus.

More to come.

For now, check out my twitter for all the breaking updates as they are made available

Prax
www.thecheckingline.com
www.twitter.com/thecheckingline



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Comments 38
Update: Eric Engels won't confirm or deny the story, Dave Stubbs is kind of twisting around it but sounds skeptical, and PJ Stock doesn't seem to believe it either.
I find it hard to believe. I think someone is trying to spark some trade rumours.
I don't think it's necessarily hard to believe that something like this happened... i mean there are always locker room confrontations. Hell, Cammy and Lapierre fought at practice last week. But I think Tony is making a much bigger deal out of this than it needs to be.

Eric Engels was talking about it on twitter, making it sound like he gets news like this a lot but holds back, because it isn't worth reporting.
Well that's what I mean, I find it hard to believe it's as bad as they are trying to make it seem. There's always disputes within teammates and obviously when the team isn't playing fantastic emotions will get the best of players.
Hmmm...where to take this one?

Let's say it's false and Marinaro's sources are full of you know what. He should then ditch his "sources" and issue a full apology to the Canadiens, the players involved and to the fans for shoddy reporting.

But let's say it's true, and his sources are credible. It's not such a big deal that one player called out another behind closed doors. It's a big deal because it's apparently Markov calling out Price. I don't need to mention how these 2 are core to the Canadiens success. There are those who argue that Markov should be captain. Is this a sign of leadership? A sign of frustration? And what of Price? We have LONG heard about Price's nonchalance, his poor body language, and at times, his questionable work ethic. I don't know what his practice habits are like. But I have not been impressed with his demeanor on-ice, especially after a goal against. I have not been impressed with his focus either. In interviews, he sometimes certainly sounds disinterested. Maybe that's just him being a calm kid. Whatever. Again, I feel like I have to qualify all this by saying that I like Price. I really, really do. I hope he's a member of this team for a long time. He's not perfect, but he's still our best hope for a bright future. That said, fans and media are turning on him, and now it seems plausible that teammates are as well. We made this logical assumption when Cammalleri scuffled with Lapierre and high-fived one another for it.

So half the team sided with Price, and half with Markov. If true, we have another divided locker room, which Gainey tried so hard to rid this team of. Or maybe, this is blown out of proportion and it was just a heated discussion.

There are those that say that what happens in the locker room should stay there. That's fair enough. I'm sure there is TONS that goes on that we don't hear about, and that we don't need to hear about. Let's get real: we want Habs news in all of its shapes and forms. Marinaro is in the business of reporting news. This is news, whether we want to call it that or not. This is not a report of the team at Buona Notte. This is not circulation of salacious photos. This is not allegations of mobster dealings. This is directly tied to the harmony and unity of the team, while they are still in their equipment. This is news (if true).

In this instance, a source revealed this scoop to Marinaro, meaning they knew this would get out, meaning they wanted this to get out. Why? Apparently Marinaro verified with a 2nd source, who also confirmed that it happened.

Could this whole thing be overblown? Certainly, and it probably is. Everything is in this city. The 2 people at the center of this make this all the more intriguing. Substitute Hal Gill and Travis Moen, and we don't talk about this.

But let's look at the core of the story here. Forget the hoopla that surrounds it. Markov is apparently calling out Price. When does Markov do anything like that? Never, as far as I can recall. Perhaps more of this kind of energy is a positive sign. I'm very much against him as team captain, but if he wants to single out players, then maybe I'm the one who's wrong. The night following the Blues loss we heard of fights at practice. Laraque was let go. D'Agostini and Pacioretty were demoted. A lot of incidents going on in a short time. It suggests that something bigger is going on, or that this team just does not like each other. At best, it can be labeled as a group that is frustrated with losing and are taking it out on each other. In that case - STOP LOSING!

So by the time the microphones get to the players, they'll be sweeping it under the rug with the usual clichés, we can be certain of that. Nobody is going to admit that there's a problem, at least not an ongoing problem.

I don't believe that Marinaro had any motivation to say what he said, other than to "report the news". Time will tell if he's right or wrong. Many will debate the merits of reporting such news. But the undertones of this story point to more unrest, which was supposed to be fixed. It points to eroding trust in Price (rightly or wrongly). It has not been an easy ride for Price in his time here. Some fans and media believe Price has been handed the job on a silver platter. Those same people believe that Price has a crap attitude and takes his position for granted. There are those on the other side who believe that he is put in an impossible situation. Somehow, something's got to give. It's plain and simple now. A growing number of people don't like Carey Price, for a multitude of reasons. If we give Marinaro the benefit of the doubt, this will not help Price's case. Fans and media can pile on him all they want, but if management and teammates continue to support him, the rest takes care of itself. It feels to me, and this is just an instinct judgement, that he is losing supporters everywhere now.

Perhaps this was a dust-up between 2 players, frustrated after a loss. But ask yourself this: how long has this been ruminating inside of Markov? It's highly uncharacteristic of him to be like this. Follow up that question with this: if it's a spur of the moment dust-up, a couple peacemakers break it up and life goes on. But this sounds like a different animal. The report says that half lined up behind Markov, and half behind Price. That's the significance. If that's accurate, then there's another deep-rooted problem on this team.

Phew. I'm tired now.
well boys i think we found our captain, it wasn't tony who first said it, it was "A L'ANTICHAMBRE" on RDS. so i for one believe it, tony, though i do not agree with him mostly but he does not invent storys he usually reports what he hear's, he's too loose in the head to invent something like that. we'll have to see what happens tonight after the game, this seposed outburst by markov happened before the lapi-cammi incedent, which leads me to believe that the real leaders are starting to come out.
I don't think anyone is saying that it didn't happen, myself included... it's just that it's an over-exaggerated tidbit that doesn't need to be the talk of sports radio all day.

If you go on CKAC and RDS they're reporting the story, but they're sourcing Marinaro... don't think think that those places could corroborate the story for themselves, if it indeed happened? It just seems unnecessary.
Once again you summed it up perfectly. Ok, ''summed'' may not be the right word Tongue

But anyway, what I find most interesting about this is that Tony's spent more time defending himself than talking about what could have happened or what could come of this. Tieman's going to back him up because they're on the same show, but otherwise, I think people are seeing through Tony in this case. He didn't ened to report it.
Dave Stubbs just summed this all up perfectly:

''It's not a scandal, it's not even news. It's the human dynamic of team sport. But some "journalists" have to be the news.''

http://twitter.com/habsinsideout1
isn't he a great writer, i had the privelage of interviewing him personaly during my cegep days at John Abbott, i also talk to him frequently during the year because he shops at home depot (were I work). i never said it was a scandal frankly i think it will just help the team if somebody actualy played big brother with price.
Honestly that's what I think it is, Markov just trying to push Price in the right direction. But Tony (and now Randy Tieman) are trying to make it sound like it's this huge locker room divide and everyone hates each other and it's huge news... well, when Dave Stubbs comes out and calls you out on something you said, you know there's something wrong.
Exactly, he's trying to light a fire up his ass so he gets his act together. Its time to shape up and with Halak standing on his head for most of this season the free lunch has run out, its time to prove your value to this team or start making flight arrangements to find work in another city.
ya tony does seem to exaggerate, why do you think he works the lunch time shift, most of the people that are listening to him are blue collar workers that have nothing to do and cant think for themselves, like that guy that calls him all the time "Eugene" he said after the loss to the rangers that he would actually stop drinking Molson beer and advise his friends to do so as well. lol what a guy! but i cant believe that a respected Journalist such as randy would actually continue to speculate on that. there more important things like the for one the game tonight. i can see it now, "HABS LOSE! Locker Room Split the Cause!" it's unbelievable what lengths people will go for a story.
Honestly that's what I think it is, Markov just trying to push Price in the right direction.

I go back to my point (and again, assuming that this story is true and accurate): if Markov is pushing Price to be better, why did this escalate to the point that half lined up between Markov, and half behind Price?

Nobody denies that Cammalleri was pushing Lapierre. Half the team didn't line up behind either player, but THAT was a case of one guy trying to spark another. Cammalleri made his point, peacemakers stepped in and that was the end of it.

This is TOTALLY different. If accurate, it means that half of the team thinks Price is dogging it, while half thinks he's not. THAT is the problem, and THAT is what this issue is about. It's not about (at least not to me) picking on Price. It's clear that this team is not all on the same page. That's the relevance of this story.

When the Canadiens fall apart, we jump around like our hair is on fire trying to find out why they stink. We blame some weak goals, we blame the coach and we blame a few guys who we think aren't doing their job. This story serves as a spotlight on what rots a team and what helps to bring it down.

There are those that think the sports media should just recap the game and deal with X's and O's. Give me a break. Those of us who have been watching hockey long enough can do that for ourselves. We listen to the radio and read blogs, and participate because we want MORE than what is available.
As for half backing one and half the other, I think there is definitely some exaggeration and assumptions being made there but I also think its about making it look like everyone isn't going to gang up on Price or on Markov.
i agree with you, but have you ever asked your self why the room might be split, why would exactly half the team be behind one and not the other, if markov, the guy that always works hard, always shows by example never speaks a word of hatred or anger to his team mates to the media, he is quiet and never says a word what pushed him to do that (speculating that it is true). he is the oldest habs member on the team (in terms of years played with habs) he is arguably the best player in the team, why would the other memebers side with price. it doesn't make sense.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the effort that guys like Tony make to make things interesting for us when it comes to the Habs. But this honestly seems like just another locker room confrontation. It's not like the players lined up on opposite sides of the dressing room and started yelling at each other, at least I can't see that happening.

Almost every caller that confronted Tony about this this morning said that they thought this happened all the time.

And judging by the way Tony reacted, it's clear to me that he was obviously exaggerating the whole thing.

You can't really blame him, he's a trending topic on Twitter as a result, RDS and CKAC picked up the story and sourced him and his listeners probably doubled in the second and third hour he was on.

But I think what he did was irresponsible.

Unless, of course, we're all being naive, and what he said did actually happen and half the team hates the other half, haha, but I think that it's unlikely.
Price has a lot of friends amongst the younger players, it wouldn't surprise me tbh. They're like a little clique.
Something else to ponder: Markov was probably frustrated that Ty Conlkin robbed him from the winning goal in OT.
lol i hope that your speculating that, lol. i more than positive that it's got to do with something bigger than that.
Just saying that Markov was pretty pissed after that game (he slammed his stick on the ice after the Blues scored) so it could definitely have played a part in confronting Price.
It is something to keep an eye on but this happens a lot more than people think. Its magnified simply because it is in Montreal.
I never understand why these guys try to stir the pot. After all the crap the organization went through last season, Marinaro tries to throw them back under the bus.

I spoke to one very good Montreal Canadiens media source today, who called it an unsubstantiated rumour.

After that game, Price was not available for the media, although CKAC's Ron Fournier stated he smashed a mirror with his stick after the game. No other dressing room insider verified that either.

Mike Boone of Habs InsideOut, who I beleive did the locker room interviews for them during that game, also calls BS.

Ya! The Habs Rule!

Alright let's get a pool going here, which players are Team Price and which players are Team Markov?

I'll say Cammalleri is Team Price and Halak is Team Markov, haha just kidding you can't pick Halak, I'll say Hamrlik was Team Markov
If it happened the way they said it did Cammy's on team Markov, since he fought with Lapierre. I think it's an older guy vs. younger guy thing, like when WCW had Hulk Hogan and all the old guys fight all the young guys back in the day. Remember that? The Millionaire's Club.

Good times.
Add McGuire to the list of people who laughed this off. Melnyk didn't really talk about it much until he came on and supported Tony because he had to, and claimed Tony had verified that it did happen, but he asked McGuire what he thought it meant.

Mcguire says: "You're talking to the guy who threw a player through a door when he was coaching" haha.

Totally blown out of proportion by Tony, but hey, it got him ratings, and it got me hits, so who's complaining Tongue
I think they're just setting up a Price vs. Markov fight for UFC 113.
And ya, tonight's game sucked... wonder how much Price is going to get blamed as a result. Going to be an interesting couple of days.
I'd pay to see that. Then again, I was already planning on paying for UFC 113 haha.
Tony's latest theory: The players aren't playing proper defense purposely because Martin is stifling their offensive abilities on the other side on the ice.

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