MONTREAL—It was just this past Thursday that Tomas Plekanec coolly threw his hands in the air in celebration of a goal he scored in his Montreal Canadiens’ 3-1 win over the New York Rangers.
It was the 232nd goal he had scored for the franchise and it very well may have been his last. Such is life in such close proximity to the trade deadline—especially for a team like the Canadiens, who plummeted so far out of the Stanley Cup playoff race so early on this season that they’d be left with no choice but to consider trading their longest-serving player.
The announcement of Plekanec’s removal from Montreal’s lineup as a precaution, which came just after noon on Saturday, kicked off the most dramatic day of what’s been one of the most dramatic seasons in Canadiens history. It was a day rife with speculation and intrigue, one that ended with arguably the most exciting game played at the Bell Centre over the last five months.
The Tampa Bay Lightning’s 4-3 shootout win over the Canadiens should’ve captured the lion’s share of the attention. This one had it all. Up and down action, featuring odd-man rushes and breakaways galore; goaltenders matching each other save for save; beautiful goals; fights between players who almost never fight, as Lightning captain Steven Stamkos took on Canadiens defenceman Karl Alzner and Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman threw down with Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher; a wild overtime; a riveting shootout.
It was a full-value night for all fans in attendance. But the fact that both teams, who are the subjects of some of the wildest rumours floating around the NHL, were playing their final game before Monday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline certainly served as a distraction.
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Not just for the knowledgeable fans in Montreal, who were likely checking social media feeds from their seats for all the trade fodder they could find, but also for the players.
"Pleky’s been a big part of this organization for a long time. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it was definitely different to go out there and not see him in the lineup," said Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty. "It’s something no one’s used to, and we should all feel responsible for being in this position. And we do."
Pacioretty’s been wearing that responsibility in the form of the captain’s "C" on his jersey. He’s seemingly been carrying it around like a two thousand-pound weight since his name hit the rumour mill in early November.
While Pacioretty was focusing on Saturday’s game, Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman and Nick Kypreos were reporting that he was ready to turn the page on his 623-game career with the Canadiens.
"He wants out," they both said.
It was just about 20 minutes after that second-intermission discussion on the Hockey Night panel that Pacioretty found himself in the slot on a Canadiens power play and buried the 226th goal of his career to put his team up 3-2. He had two more good shots in the game and three failed breakaway attempts.
Had Pacioretty converted on some of those chances, it would’ve been one of his best performances of the season.
"It puts all that stuff away for a bit," said Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin.
But all that stuff was there waiting for Pacioretty after the game, staring him in the face with all the lights, cameras and reporters standing at his dressing-room stall.
When he was asked if it had crossed his mind that this could’ve been his last game in a Canadiens uniform, Pacioretty said, "No, it didn’t cross my mind. I don’t think about that."
If that’s true, he might have been the only person in the building—and in Montreal—not thinking about it.
It’s not as if the distraction of the trade deadline resided exclusively on the Canadiens’ side of the ice.
The Lightning, who were linked to rumours about Ottawa Senators superstar defenceman Erik Karlsson, looked like a team pining for help on defence. They didn’t get to top spot in the NHL by allowing the kind of grade-A scoring chances they gave Montreal in the game.
But goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was at his best, making 29 saves and three more in the shootout to capture his 36th win of the season.
Lightning forward Brayden Point had a goal in regulation and the only one in the shootout, and Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos had 11 of the 39 shots the Lightning threw at Canadiens goaltender Antti Niemi.
You can only imagine what Plekanec was thinking as he watched it all unfold.
"We missed him out there," said Niemi.
A little over two hours before the game got underway Canadiens coach Claude Julien outlined why that would be the case.
"He’s the ultimate pro," said Julien. "He comes to the rink and he’s there early. He prepares and he practises hard and he’s focused. He’s a quiet guy who’s got a good personality. He gets along with everybody, is well respected. When it comes to the game, I think when you look at—especially this year, and even in the past when I was coaching against this team here—he was always one of those guys, especially before the new rules came out, that was good on faceoffs. He really takes pride in the game without the puck, and he was one of those guys we always pushed a little bit to bring some offence because he definitely cares more about getting scored on than scoring but he’s capable of doing both. So I think when you look back at his stats and when you look back at his durability and everything else, he’s been a real good asset for this hockey club."
Plekanec remains a member of the Canadiens for now and might still be one after Monday’s deadline passes.
But chances are he will move, and the drama that hit a high point early on Saturday will likely only ratchet up a few notches over the coming hours.
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