As you've gathered, we seldom sleep here at French Immersion, especially when there's television to be watched and websites to be surfed, so here's a late update on Kostitsyn-gate.
It would appear that young Sergei is mulling his options after his slap-in-the-face demotion to the minors (that'll learn us for accepting the official version that this is for his own good, he's a highly regarded member of the organization, etc.).
So much so that he's thinking about not reporting, according to CKAC sports. The station also had the good idea of contacting his representative, Don Meehan, who says he's awaiting instructions from his deeply unhappy client Monday evening.
Keen observers will recall that when Sergei was sent down late last year, toys were similarly launched from the stroller, and that he eventually accepted his fate, somewhat grudgingly.
Still according to CKAC, Habs GM Bob Gainey has given the junior Kostitsyn brother until high noon Tuesday to show up in Hamilton with his battle implements.
Our fine-feathered friends at La Presse also spoke to Meehan and indicate that Kostitsyn has ruled out absconding to the KHL, at least for the time being, and that he'll probably turn up in Hamilton Tuesday as the team meets following a successful jaunt in Scotland, that well-known hockey hotbed.
A hockey nation awaits with bated breath.
And it turns out that coach Jacques Martin did indeed want to send a spaghetti western-like message (heads on pikes on the outskirts of town!) not only to Sergei Kostitsyn, but to his teammates as well.
"Like the other players, Sergei must understand what's expected of him," Martin may well have thundered. (Unusually, we're relying on other people's transcriptions Monday.) "Sergei has to work on various aspects of his game and his personality to prove to us that he's in a position to help us meet our objectives."
One of those objectives, presumably, is to win, and it will only be furthered by the presence of Mike Cammalleri, who skated Monday at a team retreat in Caledon, Ont., despite a balky groin muscle.
He skated with Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn, the putative top line was Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta.
Also preparing for the regular season is Georges Laraque.
Comrade Georges, shop steward to the stars, who's slowed by a lower-body injury, says he'll be ready for Thursday's curtain-raiser against the beefed-up Leafs on Thursday.
He also told our pal Francois Gagnon of La Presse that last year's Habs were riven by "cliques" and that this year's dressing room is a much airier, chatty and happier place.
Not being self-aggrandizing, auto-back-patting types, French Immersion won't mention that similar info appeared in last Saturday's boffo paper edition of The Globe and Mail.
That would be just plain crass.
