Mikey R....

Now I didn't include Mike Ribero on my list of dirty little secret because well, I forgot about him. However, the fact of the matter is, I love Mikey R. I loved Mikey R. when he was wearing the Habs colours and I love him still.

I was bitterly disappointed when we didn't resign him, because, even if he dove against the Bruins and made the officials look like morons, he was still one of the top young talents on the team.

However, on the heels of the Kovy scandal where he apparently spouted off about everyone in the Habs organization from the owners to the vendors and back again in a Russian newspaper, Mikey R. is complaining that he wasn't treated well in Montreal.

He goes on to admit that maybe he didn't do enough weight training or rather, as much as the team would have liked. He then complains that Quebec born players have a tough time playing in la Belle Province.

Much as I hate to agree with a whiner, Mikey has a point. It is hard to be a Quebecois player in Quebec. The French media has a ton of expectations for Quebec-born players. Hell, the expect a lot of Quebec-born players who play on other teams.

No where else in Canada do you find home grown tabloids. Les Quebecois adorent la drame. C'est la vie.

Except its not easy for any player, particularly not when you feel the weight of an entire nation on your shoulders (and for the record, Quebec is a nation based on a political science definition if not a legal one).

So while I hate to agree with a whiner, Mikey R. has 44 points this season - that would put him fourth on the Habs depth chart. His +2 rating? Yeah, he'd be top 5 in that to. So while I hate to agree with a whiner, its hard to disagree with a whiner who has numbers like that.....