Mining truth in Montreal

An elder hockey scribe once told me, "If the trade rumour comes out of Montreal, don’t believe it." Of course, that was pre-internet. Today, the web has become the great equalizer — the rumours are mostly crap, no matter where they come from.

That’s why we’re not biting on P.K. Subban. A talent like this, even a mad scientist like Pierre Gauthier wouldn't give up on him, would he?

Besides, no GM on as thin of ice as Gauthier would have the leeway to deal away an asset as valuable as Subban. Yes, time for another Geoff Molson statement. Those always help to quell the panic.

ONE THING WE CAN BE SURE OF, HOWEVER

Vancouver went into the playoffs last season with nine NHL defencemen, and ended up using them all. It’s the new meaning of "playoff ready" in the NHL, when you need a separate dressing room to hold four or five extra D-men you're carrying into Round 1.

At the time of this writing, they have by our count eight NHL defencemen once again. But Sami Salo is coming off a concussion, Chris Tanev has played just four games this season, and you can't deny it: minus Christian Ehrhoff, who drove a Brinks truck to Buffalo in the offseason, this blueline isn't quite as deep as it was last spring.

The Canucks will be looking to bolster that blue-line at the Feb. 27 trade deadline (sportsnet.ca stream coverage starts at 8 a.m. ET), but what forward can they afford to give up to make a deal happen? What will it take to get a Luke Schenn or Cody Franson out of Toronto, where Brian Burke appears to be girding for a trade?

Can Vancouver’s package better a Sam Gagner from Edmonton? Of course they could, but at what point are the Canucks robbing Peter Schaefer (old Canucks forward) to pay Paul Reinhart (old Canucks defenceman)?

You have to believe GM Mike Gillis would move Manny Malhotra, whose job has been claimed by Cody Hodgson. But with 13 points and a minus-7 this season, we are sad to come to the accepted conclusion that Malhotra’s game has simply not returned in whole after the serious eye injury he suffered last season.

Short of playing their last and best card in backup goalie Cory Schneider, does Vancouver have enough to deal for that Top 4 D-man? Then again, shouldn’t Luongo and whatever Schneider could bring in trade be enough for Vancouver?

If you held on to the best No. 2 goalie in the game, barely used him and did not win it all again, wouldn’t Gillis be guilty of keeping a major bullet in his holster?

The time is now in Vancouver. Trade the backup, already.

COMPLETING THE LOOPS

You had to feel for Joffrey Lupul at last night’s All-Star draft, when he was shouted down by Senators' fans every time he leaned into the mic.

That Lupul was at the All-Star Game at all, however, is testament to a guy who took a long look in the mirror, saw an NHL career that was getting away from him, and grabbed it back this year in Toronto. Yes, Lupul's back issues played more than a small part in his career lull, but when you get traded four times in your first seven NHL seasons, there are usually reasons for that too.

Lupul stopped the trend, and put his focus back on his game. Today he’s a first-team All-Star and a point-per-game guy in a market that might have eaten this kid alive a few years ago. There's still a long, productive career in front of Lupul, who is 28, not to mention millions upon millions of dollars in salary. That wasn’t necessarily the case, not very long ago.

Good on him.

LOOSE THOUGHTS

Now that Ken Hitchcock has turned the Blues into a serious contender, the next coach out there who could do likewise is Randy Carlyle. How would he look in Edmonton? … The other goalie that has great value is 6-6, 23-year-old Anders Lindback, Nashville’s backup. With Pekka Rinne signing a seven-year deal, GM David Poile needs to parlay Lindback into the productive forward his team has lacked for years. Hello Tampa! … In a WHL matchup between two elite team, Patrick Holland was named first star in a 5-4 overtime win for Tri-City over Edmonton. Holland (20-47-67 in 47 games) is the prospect that went to Montreal in the Rene Bourque-Mike Cammalleri trade. Yes, he’s a 20-year-old junior, but if the Flames need an upgrade to make the playoffs, but from where does the trade bait come? How do you get better right now, and not part with another draft or prospect?

Mark Spector is the senior columnist on sportsnet.ca