| Gomez had just two goals and nine assists in 38 games last season. (Getty Images) |
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It looks as though the Scott Gomez era in Montreal is going to end with less than a fizzle.
Gomez and his monstrous contract will not be suiting up with the Canadiens this season. Instead, he will be paid to sit at home for the 48-game season and will be bought out this summer using one of the two amnesty buyouts granted to teams in the new CBA.
That Gomez, 33, would be bought out in the summer of 2013 seemed like the greatest guarantee in the NHL. His contract has been quite possibly the league's biggest eyesore in recent seasons (his or Rick DiPietro's with the Islanders). That part of it isn't necessarily unexpected, but asking Gomez to sit the whole season is the shake-up.
The reasons for doing it would seem to be two-fold. First of all, frankly, Gomez hasn't been a terribly big help to the Habs on the ice. New GM Marc Bergevin would probably like to begin life after Gomez despite the fact that his salary and cap hit will still be with the Canadiens this season. That's No. 1.
Secondly, the Habs don't want to risk any injury to Gomez that would mess up any plans to buy him out over the summer. With the salary cap going down next season, the Canadiens couldn't afford to have Gomez be in a position where he couldn't be bought out because of injury.
"The safest way for us to do that [buy Gomez out] without risking injury was to send him home," Bergevin explained.
It's a tough way for Gomez to go out (and also for the Rangers' Wade Redden, who apparently will get the same treatment). He undoubtedly wanted to play, even if he knew he was going to be bought out this summer. This deprives him of a chance to perhaps try to redeem himself for a future contract. At a much cheaper value, some teams will probably consider Gomez this summer after a buyout. So not being able to showcase what he might be able to do stinks for him. But it's easy to understand from the Canadiens' perspective.
So we can put a cap on the Gomez era in Montreal (yes, those are cheers you're hearing coming out of Quebec). His three seasons in Montreal yielded just 21 goals and a total of 108 points -- more than half of those coming in the first season alone. All the while, he was carrying a cap hit of $7,357,143, hardly close to the production level.
Just as a reminder (a painful one for those in Montreal, we're sure), here's what brought Gomez to the Habs in the first place. Man, this has to sting.
Flashback to June 30, 2009: NYR trade Gomez, Tom Pyatt, Michael Busto to MTL for Chris Higgins, Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) January 13, 2013
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