Poor Len Canayen: Memo (with VIDEOS) to Marc Bergevin

From: Poor Len Canayen, National Sports Editor 

To: Marc Bergevin, General Manager, Montréal Canadiens 

c.c.: Pat Hickey, Montreal Gazette

Sujet: La défense!

Mon cher Marc! Comme j'ai dit hier, le grand défi pour les Glorieux -- c'est à dire pour toi! -- est de renforcer une défense affaiblie par l'absence de Shea Weber et, pour le moment, Joel Edmundon. Faut trouver au moins deux défenseurs du premier plan ASAP! Mais où chercher? 

The answer, my dear Marc, is in Russia, where there are two -- count `em, 2! -- defencemen who are competent (or more), experienced, and have already played for Canada's team! Both are available (as far as I know) and would be happy to return to Montréal. I refer to Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin.

Andrei Markov played for a number of Russian teams, but was with the Habs (or their AHL farm team) for the entirety of his long (2000-2017) and illustrious NHL career. He was widely regarded as the team's most complete defenceman of the era. He was solid on the blue line, but also a great quarterback on the power play, one who could be counted on to put the puck in the net. Here's a highlight reel.

IMHO, Canadiens' management never gave the all-star defenceman the respect (or the money) he deserved. They made a big fuss over their diversity hire, who proved to be a flash in the pan, but when Markov asked for a two-year contract extension, you, my dear Marc, offered only one, to prove you're the boss, I guess. Big mistake!

I suggest you swallow your pride, and let him come back for a year. Yes, he's 42, but other grey-beards, (Zdeno Chara, Alex Ovechkin) are still playing well. In the absence of Shea Weber, Andrei Markov would look good as half of your top defence pair. 

Alexei Emelin was the other Russian who left the Canadiens at the end of the 2016-17 season. I can't blame you, Marc, for this one, except for leaving him unprotected in the expansion draft. Las Vegas picked him up and immediately traded him to Nashville, where he played for just one season before going home in a huff.

While he was with the Habs (2011-2017), Emelin played solid defence, and I use that word advisedly, as this video shows.

Emelin wasn't the smartest player, and he contributed next to nothing offensively, but opposing players who dared to enter the Habs' half of the rink did so cautiously, with their heads up, when No. 74 was on the ice. Don Cherry, who loathed Emelin, said you had to be aware of who you were up against, when he was out there, or you'd pay the price. 

In 2020-2021, Alexei Emelin played for Avangard Omsk of the KHL. In 59 regular season and 12 playoff games he scored 7 goals (!) and 17 assists, total 24 points, while taking a mere 77 minutes in penalties. Looks to me like he's in his prime, at age 35. And you need a guy who can strike fear into the hearts of the opposition. Bring him back!

À la prochaine,

Poor Len Canayen