Music: {allcanada} FORMER HAB GILL OFFERS DEEP LOOK INSIDE TEAM

The Montreal Gazette recently offered an explosive interview with former Habs defenceman Jaroslav Spacek, where he took the team's hockey-operations unit to task. Former Canadiens rearguard Hal Gill, traded to Nashville on Feb. 17 after having spent more than 2 1/2 seasons in Montreal, has now shared his wide-ranging thoughts with the Gazette. He touches on Marc Bergevin, Pierre Gauthier, Jacques Martin, Spacek, Randy Cunneyworth, no Habs captain, Carey Price, P.K. Subban and the Montreal media market. Really interesting takes from Gill.

Here are some of the highlights, courtesy of Hockey Inside/Out. You can also read the entire Q&A.

Q: 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.)

A: 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.

Q: Jaro Spacek spoke to me at length recently about former coach Jacques Martin's system. Talk about that?

A: I read where Spatcho said we didn't have a system that fit us. I think Jacques put something out there then let us handle everything else. He let the older guys kinda take control – Gio, Cammy, Gomer, me, Moen… all these guys who'd come in (as UFAs or, in Gomez's case, by trade). I thought we didn't really know what to do, but it was our team. Then we had success because we worked as a team, that's how we got into the playoffs (going three rounds deep in 2009-10).

The message (from the coaching staff) was we need to play as a team with their system. I tried to preach it but the hard part was we didn't play to guys' strengths. With Gomez, you don't expect him to chip it up the boards, you want him to come back and pick it up. If he can't do that, he can't be effective. With me, I have to do what I do.

There wasn't a huge difference in the system of (Nashville coach) Barry (Trotz), but the D always stay together. You don't have a forward in the middle. (Laughing) Basically, I couldn't even tell you what we were running. But the D stayed together. If the puck goes this way, I go to the boards and my D stays with me. …

This was my first time playing in the Western (conference) or maybe it was the team, but I felt a lot of times I had more time with the puck. There were subtle differences.

Q: Did Gauthier put Randy Cunneyworth in an impossible position, parachuting him in to replace Martin?

A: I guess so. It was completely unfair. I think that's the hardest thing about Montreal – you can't just go for the best guy for the (coaching) job. You're the GM and you have a guy who doesn't speak French and he's the clear best for the job, but you can't hire him. That's got to be the most frustrating thing. I don't care if the coach spoke only Russian. If he's the best coach?

Some (in the media) get fired up and talk about it. I think Cunney took the job as kind of a puppet. I don't think he had carte blanche to do whatever he wanted to do.

I think the hard part for us as players is that we had a coaching change, but nothing changed. Gomer was excited: "Now we're going to play!" That's what you need, you have a coaching change and you go from the doghouse to a new life. Guys who weren't in the doghouse say, "I have to prove myself." That's why you get a jump and everyone kind of picks up their game. But for whatever reason, Cunney said, "I believe in the system, let's go with the system." I like Cunney, I think he's great. I just don't know if he got to (call his own shots).

Cunney was very good about it and we joked around some. I guess I don't understand it because I'm not French. Maybe if I was I'd have more (stake) in it. But I just want to win. If we'd started winning, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

Q: Are you surprised the Canadiens went their entire centennial year, your first season here, without a captain?

A: No. The whole captain/alternate thing is just for the fans. (I suggest to Gill it's largely symbolic and he agrees.) We followed Gio because of his presence on the ice. He's not a guy who says much, but when you see him go to the net, take a crosscheck then get up and go at it again, that's why you follow him.

Q: Did you see Carey Price mature during your time here?

A: Yes. Pricey is good. He's a different guy. It's hard in Montreal. You go out somewhere, and I've been out with him, and people are taking pictures and video, and you're thinking, "This is ridiculous." Everyone wants to buy him a shot. He'll accept one, be a nice guy and talk to them, then someone else wants to buy him a drink. He's out a little late, then (the media or others online) give him (crap) for being out late.

It's the same for P.K. Everyone loves him, everyone wants to party. Then they say, "P.K. was out late last night, he shouldn't have been." Every time you go out in Montreal, it's the best night out.

Carey was over that when I got here in 2009. But after everyone turned on him that season and when (goalie Jaroslav) Halak was the end all, be all, the best thing ever, I said to Carey, "You must be excited to get out of here," and he said, "No, I really want to make it work." He wanted to stay after all that? I don't know, he was stronger than I would have been. I'd have been, "I'm getting out of here, I can't wait to go somewhere else." He was awesome, I liked playing for him.

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

Q: What about P.K.? You were a major influence on him on the ice and in the dressing room and are best placed to comment on his game.

A: The frustrating part is I wanted to play with P.K., that's why I signed (last summer) for another year. But Jacques wanted to switch it up.

Q: Can a veteran, a Stanley Cup winner like yourself, not discuss this with his coach?

A: Communication wasn't Jacques's strength. He's a great guy but he's quiet. You could talk to him but he was rigid in his ways. It would be, "I'll listen to you but I'm the coach and this is what I'm going to do." Some guys now, newer coaches, want to hear what you're thinking. When I went to Nashville, the coaches were talking to me: "What are you thinking? What do you want to do? Do you like playing with this guy or that guy?" There was a lot more communication.

Q: So back to P.K.?

A: I really wanted to play with P.K. The problem was with P.K. is that everyone wanted to fix him. P.K. is P.K. You don't fix him. You have to just keep him focused and on the ball. That's why I thought I had a good relationship with him – we're going up the ice and I'm yelling at him to go, yelling at him. And he's like, "Oh yeah, okay…"

We had Randy Ladouceur and Perry Pearn coaching him and I was his partner. I think it was a lot. I told P.K., "There's a lot of people all over you. If you want to talk, come and talk to me. If I see something on the ice, I'll tell you, but I'm not going to bother you."

I thought he was awesome, I'd talk to him a lot. In the Buffalo airport, as I was leaving for Detroit after the trade, he called me and talked to me for five minutes. He's a really good kid. He just needs to play the game. That's all it is.

He's got to learn to focus. He's so gifted, he just kinda goes and does his thing, that's what he's always done. He goes out there – "It's my turn? I'm going to jump on the ice and be awesome." Just focus. He's a young kid. When you first get to the NHL, you're thinking, "It's my first year, I'm going to be awesome." Your second year comes around and it's, "I'm awesome, I'm just going to do what I do." Well, it doesn't work that way.

Q: A lot is made of the media around the Canadiens, turning over every rock for the scoop. You've played in Toronto and Boston, Original Six hockey cities and hot hockey markets. Any way to compare?

A: There's so much media in Montreal that you kind of forget about it. Toronto was crazy but in Montreal, there's a feeling of celebrity more than just hockey. Carey Price is a celebrity. If Brad Pitt and Carey Price are standing there, I think people are going to Carey. Toronto is similar in some ways, but there's a lot more going on (in sports). Here, there's a lot of "what are players doing off the ice?"

I'm not pretty to watch, I get that. I understand when fans want to see someone make a saucer pass or score a goal. But I was really impressed in Montreal the way people said about me, "No, that's not what he does. Watch, he'll make a pokecheck."

In Toronto, I had the best year of my career, a bunch of points, but I was doing everything they really didn't care for. I'd do a full two minutes on the PK, doing everything, and they were just like, "He's not good."

I come to Montreal and I'm like, "I hope they don't boo me out of here, as they can." It was kinda nice that they got on my good side and saw what I could do well.

Q: In the event of a lockout, or the phone not ringing come July 1, do you have a Plan B for the future?

A: The labour's the big thing. I don't know. It doesn't look… I don't really know what both side are going to go for. I can't imagine missing a year, that's a tough hit. Phoenix has just got on board, L.A.'s in the Cup final… to miss a year after all that buzz would be a shame.

Anne is going to eventually work. She wants to open a store, she's making a bag right now, just starting out. She's like to do something like that. That's the hard part for her. When I was in Boston she wanted to open a store but she couldn't do it, I was gone so much. That's the hardest thing for her – arranging our kids' lives, schools and so on. All I have to do is show up at the rink. I have a bunch of friends I play hockey with.