Laracque cut by the Habs: one of the most classless moves ever by the Habs organization
Georges Laraque will not play another game with the Montreal Canadiens.
General manager Bob Gainey contacted him Thursday morning and told him that head coach Jacques Martin didn't had any confidence in him anymore and the team believes they can win without the enforcer in the lineup. The club will pay his salary for the rest of the season and will buy out the rest of his contract at the end of the 2009-10 campaign.
Laraque, who told TSN he was on his way to practice in the morning when he received the call to meet with Gainey, insists he's been a good team player and said there were no issues with the team or Martin, whom he believed was behind the decision.
"Jacques Martin doesn't like me and doesn't believe in toughness," Laraque told TSN.
Laraque added that Martin never shared any concerns directly with him and is furious with the Canadiens' approach based on the emotional issues he's dealing with following the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the impact this disaster has had on both him and his family.
"To do this in the midst of all I'm dealing with in Haiti, the timing is awful," Laraque said angrily.
Laraque followed up the initial conversation after cooling down in an effort to put his frustration into context.
"I was very emotional and I'm very hurt by this decision. I'm a proud guy and I may have let my emotions get the better of me," Laraque told TSN.
"Needless to say, I'm very disappointed."
Laraque, a Montreal native, signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract in July of 2008 and has one year remaining on his deal.
A lingering back injury limited him to just 61 games with the Canadiens over the last two seasons, as he tallied just five points and 89 penalty minutes. Laraque scored his first and only goal with the Canadiens last week in a game against the Dallas Stars.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=307080
