Trish Thornton's Sports Column Archives

I've covered the Montreal Canadiens for Sportsnet.ca for a year and a half and I have to say, it's been quite a ride.

My first column came just weeks after Saku Koivu was diagnosed with cancer. His illness on top of the Habs' recent history of injury upon injury made me shake my head and wonder why I'd take on such a task. Would I spend my Sportsnet career reporting from the Canadiens' sickbay? Would every article be about the Canadiens trying to get out of the basement? Could I possibly make sense of one of the great Canadian institutions being run by a guy from the United States?

Continue reading "A teary farewell? (February 2003)" »

Posted by trish at 10:57 AM | Permalink

Earlier this season, the toughest crowd on the planet found a new target for its boos and raspberries. Mariusz Czerkawski came to town and was supposed to be the answer to Montreal's scoring woes. Night after night he shot and missed; he was squeezing his stick too hard and rarely found the back of the net. The Bell Centre boo-birds made their feelings known to the new Hab as they watched Czerkawski's scoring percentage drop like a stone.

Continue reading "I love Paris in the springtime (February 2003)" »

Posted by trish at 10:55 AM | Permalink

Now I know how Silvio from "The Sopranos" feels. Or maybe it was Michael Corleone in "The Godfather III." Regardless, once the Montreal Canadiens grab your heart and soul, they never let go.

Continue reading "Every time I think I'm out they pull me back in (February 2003)" »

Posted by trish at 10:52 AM | Permalink

The crafty kids at the helm of the Sportsnet.ca Web site have built the coolest little feature into the NHL Hockey part of the site. Almost from day one in the NHL season, visitors can go to any team page and see where that team would be "if the playoffs started today."

Continue reading "Don't look now, but the Habs own a playoff spot! (January 2003)" »

Posted by trish at 10:51 AM | Permalink

What is it they say about the best-laid plans? They gather no moss. No, that's not right. They go astray! That's it. And that is exactly what happened to me this past weekend.

Continue reading "A funny thing happened on the way to the farm part 2 (January 2003)" »

Posted by trish at 10:49 AM | Permalink

A little festive offering...

Continue reading "Twas the week before Christmas (December 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:47 AM | Permalink

I got bored over the weekend. I sat out this road trip and tooled around looking for something to do. There was no big blockbuster movie opening this week and the Habs were playing the late game on Saturday night. Yawn. And you think sports reporters live the exciting life - HA! A mega-bag of cheesies and a 6-pack of cream soda is about as daring as my weekend gets.

Continue reading "Email hacking (December 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:43 AM | Permalink

It was glorious. The hometown team at centre ice passing the shiny, beautiful, legendary Cup back and forth between them; the crowd delirious with joy, screaming at the top of their lungs while "We Are the Champions" roared through the speakers at the Bell Centre. Oh yes, the blue blanc et rouge are glorious again, at the top of the world in their sport. Montreal is the home of the Grey Cup Champs.

Continue reading "Wrong Cup (December 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:39 AM | Permalink

This is what my handy little pocket dictionary says:

solution: se'loosh'n - noun: solving or means of solving a problem or difficulty

These days, everybody is offering a solution to something. Whether it's an e-commerce solution, a health club solution or a stamp-collecting solution, someone is forever trying to sell you something wonderful, the answer to all the woes you didn't even know you had. "Listerine, your bad-breath solution!" Oh please.

Continue reading "Solution pollution (November 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:36 AM | Permalink

I'm cranky. Maybe not Andre Savard cranky, but I sure am cranky. Why? It's not any one thing in particular making me grumpy, it's a bunch of little things. It's everything. For instance I didn't get my snow tires on in time for the first mucky drive of the year. I hate that. And I got a soaker too and I hate having wet socks. Cold, damp feet sure can put me in a mood. And I'm in one.

Continue reading "Thornton with two n's (November 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:32 AM | Permalink

$8.6M. So much is being made of that number. It's the combined salary of the Montreal Canadiens' number-one goaltender Jose Theodore and their other number-one goaltender Jeff Hackett. Both of these masked-men are winning - Jose finally playing confident hockey again. Whew! The team in front of them doesn't discriminate either. All hands play just as hard for Hackett as they do for last season's MVP. The Habs have a great thing going. So why is everyone bothered by it? I'm not.

Continue reading "Money and masked men (November 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:28 AM | Permalink

It's a fact: you can't tie the Stanley Cup. You can win it and you can lose it. But never has an NHL commissioner asked both captains to come to centre ice to accept the Cup. And never has the engraver had to double his chisel time pounding two rosters onto the shiny silver. You can't tie the Stanley Cup.

So the Montreal Canadiens better learn to win.

Continue reading "Ties that bind (November 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:24 AM | Permalink

There's a nip in the air and frost on the windshield, John Garrett is losing the hockey pool again and there's a goalie controversy in Montreal. All's right with the world!

Oh the irony. On the same night that the Montreal Canadiens honoured Ken Dryden, their goaltending hero from that incredible 1976-77 team, the city was abuzz with controversy. A goaltending controversy no less. Jeff Hackett was going to start in the Montreal net for the second game in a row. At home. Against the Toronto Maple Leafs. On national television! Oh the horror, the horror!

Jose Theodore, last year's darling who won both the Hart and Vezina trophies, has had a tough start to the season. He allowed 12 goals in 2 games in front of the hometown fans. With a big fat paycheck in his pocket and the silverware on the mantel, was he getting complacent? Was he under too much pressure? Or was he really just a one-year wonder?

For the record, no, no and no. This happens. A lot. Goaltenders are like pitchers or drummers. They're the freaks of the team who slip in and out of a groove at the drop of a jock strap. Jose hasn't found his groove yet but pity the poor opponents when he does! Remember his 7-game win streak at the end of last season that nailed the playoff spot? Hmmm? Do you? How quickly we all forget.

Continue reading "Crisis? What crisis? (October 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:23 AM | Permalink

It's been called the fastest game on ice. This season, hockey is finally living up to that billing. With the referees calling the games the way they should be called, the 2002-03 campaign may be the most exciting hockey since the Oiler style of the1980's.

There's an added bonus or two as well. If the league continues to give the refs the authority to call obstruction penalties, they won't have to eliminate the red line. They won't have to make the ice surface bigger. That's three birds with one whistle, folks! Yes, the game has opened up that much in two short weeks. Combine that with those quick faceoffs and a night at the rink no longer feels like a night at an interminable rock opera. Halleluja! Less time between plays means less time for that awful thumping music and cheesy arena promotions. We're there to watch hockey, Mr. Bettman!

Continue reading "Fast start to the season! (Oct. 2002)" »

Posted by trish at 10:11 AM | Permalink

If the Canadiens make it to the post season, it will be 1993 all over again... except for the Cup of course.

It's as bad as we thought it might be. Montreal's current road trip looks more like a 20-car pile-up than a detour in the middle of a "Cinderella" season. And the Habs won't be home again until they touch down in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Minnesota - talk about Cinderella stories, all of 'em!

Here are some numbers from the past ten games that prove that the Firewagon is merely a pumpkin after all:

• 3 wins, 5 losses, 1 tie, 1 overtime loss


• the Canadiens have been outshot in every game; they managed a measly 16 shots in 3 of those games and only hit the 30-shot mark in overtime games


• Brian Savage hasn't had a point since December 17th, yet he's still 2nd in team scoring - ugh!


• Jeff Hackett hasn't won a game since coming back from a shoulder injury on December 12th.

Continue reading "Playoff bound? Let's hope not! - 12/30/01" »

Posted by trish at 02:52 PM | Permalink

Just when this columnist was about to put her article (and herself) to bed, the hockey gods strike again

If there had been a play-by-play guy and colour commentator in my office this week, it may have sounded something like this:

- Good evening fans. It looks like she's got an interesting column for you this week. She's starting with a clever title "Ties, damn ties and overtime." Yes sir, she's digging deep into those files now, pulling a tattered box labeled 1993 out of her filing cabinet… but we'll have to wait and see what she's on about as she takes a quick break. Dick, what do you make of things so far?

- Well, Danny, it looks to me like she's alluding to the last time Montreal won the Stanley Cup. But how it relates to the title…? It reminds me of when my father coached the 1953 Canadiens…

- She's back, and you're right, Dick, this does have something to do with the playoffs and tie games. She's flipping through the record books and … YES she finds it! Montreal had 10 overtime wins in the 1993 playoffs.

Continue reading "Another column, another emotional roller coaster - 12/13/01" »

Posted by trish at 02:33 PM | Permalink

Taking stock of some key players in the Canadiens' defence corps while hoping beyond hope that it doesn't jinx 'em!

Generally, I'm not a superstitious person. Oh sure, I have my lucky socks for those days when I need to wow someone in a meeting. Then there's the little wooden tennis racquet I still take to the court just in case the big aluminum one lets me down. And I admit that if I don't wear the correct home-or-away Habs sweater when I watch Montreal in the playoffs (keep dreaming, girl), I'm beside myself, convinced that they will lose.

When I started writing this weekly column about the Montreal Canadiens, I never thought twice about superstitions or jinxes. I wrote about Joe Juneau, Donald Audette and Jan Bulis with reckless abandon, with a sense that this year could be the turnaround year for Les Glorieux. And look what happened. The Montreal injury jinx strikes again. Or was it me?

This week, I had planned on writing about the Canadiens' underrated defence squad, the guys you rarely hear about. It's not just José Théodore, Andy Dackell and Chad Kilger who are responsible for Montreal's great penalty kill record (the Habs are 3rd best in the NHL in this category.) The no-name blueliners may be the brightest, quietest story of the season. So do I continue telling the story? Or will I be putting them in harm's way by talking about them?

Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead, I say!

Continue reading "12/06/01 - In defence of the defence" »

Posted by trish at 04:07 PM | Permalink

Not this columnist and her first quarter review of the Montreal Canadiens.

After four measly columns, have I already succumbed to the traps of living room lazy-boy sports journalism? Am I taking the easy road, giving you a paper-thin report card that does nothing to enhance your already brimming brain of hockey knowledge? Heaven knows every mullet-headed hockey pundit, every part-your-hair-in-the-middle and squeeze-into-the-starch-white-collar hack has given you his thoughts on the first quarter of the NHL's 2001-02 campaign, of Montreal's surprising start. Is there anything more to say?

Damn straight there is! And not just names and numbers either. The Montreal Canadiens' "peaks and valleys" season so far has a million stories and I'll try to get through the best of them in my allotted bandwidth.

The numbers (well I have to start somewhere!)

Continue reading "11/29/01 -Caving to stereotypical hockey reporting?" »

Posted by trish at 04:03 PM | Permalink

I went to one of those geeky comic book/gamer stores yesterday and bought an action figure. You're thinking, that's about right. Only 30-odd shopping days until Christmas and she's picking up a Spiderman figurine or a Power Puff Girl for the young'uns.

Think again.

NHL action figures have become a big deal, for the most part because of a certain hockey fan cum comic book writer cum toy maker who grew up in Alberta (and no, we're not giving you a plug, Mr. McFarlane). The first collection that came out in 2000 included an incredible life-like model of Curtis Joseph and a stunning replica of Patrick Roy. And that made me very sad. I assumed I would never see a beautiful action figure wearing les bleu, blanc et rouge. Face it, the Montreal Canadiens haven't had a big name star worthy of super hero status since… since… well, since Patrick Roy. Argh!

Early this year I received an insider's newsletter (okay, I AM a geek!) telling me what players were going to be the next big 6 in the action figure gallery. Peter Forsberg, John LeClair, Dominik Hasek, you know, the usual suspects. But there on the list, hidden among the future Hall of Famers was José Théodore. Yes, Montreal's little #60. Huh? Isn't he a backup goalie? Do I even remember watching him play?

Oh me of little faith.

Continue reading "11/22/01 -Look, between the pipes, it's Dryden, it's Roy, it's… José?" »

Posted by trish at 04:01 PM | Permalink

It's like this, fellas: when you get the puck on your stick in the opponent's end of the rink, just fire it at the net. Is that too much to ask for? I know, the odds of that puck going into the net are small, but at least there's a chance, a dream, a hope that you'll light it up.

The Montreal Canadiens haven't lit up much of anything lately, except perhaps the phone lines to the farm team in Quebec City. For some reason, the forwards have forgotten that it's in the best interest of the team and the scoreboard to shoot. More shots on net = more potential goals. It's not rocket surgery, for goodness sake!

In a recent game in Boston, the numbers flattered the visiting Canadiens as Montreal's final SOG (shots on goal) count read 20. As if! Maybe 8 or 9 with a handful of dribblers from the high boards -- and even that's pushing it. I could hardly watch the game, cringing with every hesitation, every befuddled rush by the boys in red. At times I found myself counting the players on the ice just to make sure Montreal wasn't playing a man short. "Two minutes for too many invisible players on the ice."

Continue reading "11/15/01 - He doesn't shoot, he doesn't score" »

Posted by trish at 03:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In the 1993 playoffs, I saw something that scared me. The face of a “Killer.” He was bruised and gaunt, his compact frame nothing but muscle and heart. There was fire in his eyes. A fire that hadn’t been seen since…well, since the Rocket’s bleu blanc et rouge glare.

So why was I scared? Because it wasn’t a firey red of Les Glorieux that he was wearing, it was the dreaded Toronto Maple Leaf sweater. Moreover, it looked like the Canadiens might just have to face him in the Stanley Cup Finals, and I’m sorry to say I didn’t think the Habs could beat the “Killer”.

As we know, everything turned out the right way that year for Habs’ fans in the end. Montreal never had to face Doug Gilmour and the Leafs. Whew! However, not much has gone the right way since then. Oh sure, there was an unexpected and exciting first round playoff win against Jagr and the Pens in 1998, but lately, it’s only bad news that comes out of the Molson Centre.

Continue reading "11/02/2001 - There's a Killer on the road..." »

Posted by trish at 02:56 PM | Permalink