Hall of Famer Gainey enjoying Canadiens’ playoff ride
Today, with the city where he made most of his professional living hanging breathlessly on every shift of every game during the Canadiens’ current playoff run, the 72-year-old native of Peterborough, Ontario, is happy to be in a quiet place with a remote control in his hand.
“I’ve been to one playoff game, against Tampa Bay (in the First Round),” Gainey said, in wide living-room conversation on Tuesday. “I was involved for a long time, I spent enough nights in buildings, at games, that I don’t need to be in a building to enjoy a game.
“I do I like to see the teams I was associated with do well,” he added, having as GM led the Dallas Stars to their 1999 Stanley Cup victory. “I like to see the best team win, with competition as fair as it can be. The next best thing to being the winner is being second, because that means you were in the game.”
Gainey has always walked his own path, true to himself, the Montreal Forum having been the local address for his ferocious, nearly indestructible 200-foot game as the best defensive forward of his generation.
