You know the saying, "No team is bigger than the NHL?"
Well it simply isn't true.
There is one team which transcends everything in this sport and the more I hang around the inner workings of this world the more I see it to be 100% the case... The NHL "advises" a lot of teams on how they should do certain things. Never in an obnoxious way, and almost always in a way that is appreciated by the team owners...but when it comes to the Montreal Canadiens they stay out of it...Only one other team comes close to such a pure autonomy and that would be the NY Rangers...But they aren't even in the same world as the Canadiens.
So when an agent starts to attack the Habs....the relationship is indeed over. Even if it is true that the Pacioretty leaks are coming from the team, calling them out in public is air you are really best NOT venturing into. A deal was never done if a main part of that deal wasn't done.
Max is a class player all the way. I have no doubt he could play out this contract with Montreal and would give EVERYTHING he has on the ice. He DOES love paying in Montreal...but he also loves other things ...and no one can hold that against him... He has earned the right after this year to pick where he plays. And while Montreal would love to keep him, this isn't the "pocket rocket" we are talking about. The Habs will continue on and be great again with or without #67.
But when his agent goes after the Habs in public, it is calculated and risky...and the Habs got the message. I talked to a source in Montreal who confirmed as much. The frustration with all of this is very real and legit, but if you REALLY want to fix things with Montreal you never make this dispute public. That is NOT how this great machine works.
It is easy to look at the Habs like a team that is lousy. A team that has struggled and while they have won more Cups than anyone, by a kilometer, they are in a down period and haven't won a Cup in two plus decades.
That doesn't matter. The Canadiens still own the conversation and have three times more people watching them play hockey on a nightly basis than ANYONE else...and that is when they are bad.
They don't want to give up Max for purely futures...like Carolina did with Skinner....but they may have to...However, it will be on their terms and pushing them, no matter how much you want this to be over, implies YOU are bigger than they are and that is simply...wrong.