“(In a text message to HIO, Price hailed Gill as “the favourite teammate” he’s had in hockey.)” 

"Talon (the couple’s 7-month-old son) is a monster. He’s huge. He’s a beast. And he’s such a guy, too. At six months old, he was wearing clothes for a 12-month-old. (Mischievous expression) Gio sent me a picture of the two of them together and I thought it was funny they were the same size."

The prevailing sentiment is that the Canadiens have turned an important corner in their rebuilding with the hiring of Marc Bergevin as general manager to replace Pierre Gauthier. The Gauthier era was confounding, to say the least. What was your take on it?

(Almost 15 minutes of Gill’s reply was off the record. What follows was on the record.)

I think the way Pierre ran the team is what they’d teach you in business school about managing people. I think he went by the book, that that was kinda the funny thing (given the nature of a hockey team). … I’d ask Pierre every day why we had to do things a certain way, kinda have fun with it. But he didn’t mix very well with the team so communication was different. He’s a different person.

In Nashville, I’d go to (GM) David Poile, who’s the nicest man, so up front, and he’d say, “We’re all in this together, what should we do? Do you have any ideas? Do you think we handled this situation right?” It was a different world. I think Bergevin is going to be great. I don’t know his track record after his playing days, but as a player he was a first-rate beauty, a clown. … I think it’s going the right way in Montreal. I hope it is.

His buddy Gorges, who lives about 20 minutes away on the other side of the Okanagan Valley, never did prank Price’s new home as the defenceman promised/threatened.

Not with toilet paper in the trees, soap on the windows, by puncturing a garden hose or perhaps with something more creative.

“Josh can come and try it,” Price said brightly, “provided he wants to pick shotgun pellets out of his (butt).”

See you next year.

"

The Canadiens look like a totally different team with Andrei Markov in the lineup. He controls the game whenever he’s on the ice. Ask the players how much of a difference he makes and they don’t say anything at first. They just roll their eyes. Common sentiment: “Passes always hit the tape of your stick.” And with that stone-eyed look, it’s all business when he’s around.

For his part, Markov says he’s nowhere near the pace he wants to be, adding he’s noticed he’s a step behind several times. Considering Montreal didn’t want him playing on back-to-back nights last weekend, I can’t see any way the organization allows him to play in the worlds. Too much at stake.

"