Collection of late February Montreal sports rants

Holy crap. I just looked at the last time I actually blogged on here and realized I needed to get my butt in gear. No offense to the frequently posting Moe Khan, but the people need to hear from me. Okay, maybe that's a little overblown. Still, it's time. I've been away and now I'm back, so here we go:

Habs at the deadline


Now, some may disagree with me on this, but I thought Pierre Gauthier could have gotten more for Andrei Kostitsyn. The player I non-affectionately refer to as Meathead has some skills. He has a shot. He can skate. He can throw a check. Granted, it's rare you see him do all of those things on the same night. But even still, you had to believe there was a team out there that would have paid a first rounder for Kostitsyn and maybe a third rounder, no? Ah Pierre Gauthier, at least you're consistent.

And what about Yannick Weber? He remains on this team when everyone knows he isn't in the plans for the future. Montreal needs a bigger, tougher blueline. With guys like Subban and the emerging Nathan Beaulieu, you have to figure a player of Weber's ilk is simply redundant. So Mr. Gauthier, why not move him at the deadline? Weber does have a great shot and some power play goals this season. Surely, someone would have paid something for him, no? You watch. Weber won't make the team next season if Andrei Markov is healthy and Montreal will end up dumping him for a sixth rounder.

Oh, and I see Louis Leblanc was demoted. Good move. But only if he gets top line minutes in Hamilton. Build this guy's confidence heading into training camp. And for the love of Pete, make this man a sandwich. He needs to gain a few pounds before the fall.

Gary Carter tribute

I heard Rodger Brulotte on Mitch Melnick's TSN 990 program on Monday, waxing poetic about his ties to the Gary Carter family and how he's leading the committee to have the city of Montreal honor the hall-of-famer. Whatever is decided, I just want it to be on a grand scale. I want the tribute to be inspiring, memorable and very, very visible. Gary helped to put Montreal and the Expos on the map as a North American sports town. So, before people in the southern states forget we even had a baseball team here, I hope something wonderful is put together in public to pay homage to the Kid.

Alouettes are a crapshoot

Am I the only one that has no idea what to expect from the Alouettes this coming season? Who the heck knows what kind of team they'll have on the field. I mean, they have a coach that many say is one foot out the door to greener pastures, a GM who decided not to bring back many veterans and key pieces, and an aging quarterback who is getting less and less mobile. Throw in a bunch of concussed players returning, and you have a real unpredictable group of players assembling for training camp this spring. And what about attendance? Anyone else wondering how many empty seats we'll see on the hill this summer, too?

We're back on air late Tuesday night on TSN 990 radio, after another Habs postgame show. If you're up, tune in, it should be fun.

Follow Matthew Ross on Twitter @TSNmatthew