Monday, February 20, 2012  Into the Void  There's an old Sam
Pollock quote about guys who are "good in the room." The
straightforward GM, when told a guy was "good in the room"
tersely replied, "Then he should stay in the room." Leadership
off the ice, in other words, isn't worth much if the guy isn't
able to bring it on the ice as well. Sadly, that's what happened
to Hal Gill in Montreal. While nobody is saying he's not a
warrior or not a great teammate, the truth is that this year the
already-slow defenceman lost another step. He's still money on
the PK, expecially 5-on-3s, but his ice time at even-strength
dropped this year, for good reason. So, good guy or not, as a
hockey player, Gill likely wouldn't have been back next year. In
that case, Pierre Gauthier was right to trade him and get some
return before letting him go for nothing in the summer.  That
doesn't mean it's not really sad to see him go. Gill has been an
alternate captain since his arrival in Montreal because
everybody respected him. He was on