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

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.