After taking part in Hamilton’s 4-1 loss to Lake Erie tonight, centre Andreas Engqvist found himself on a flight to Montreal after being recalled by the Canadiens.

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Never mind whether or not you think Gauthier should still be in charge at this point. The fact of the matter is:  He IS.  And as long as the Canadiens are alive and kicking in the race for a playoff spot in the East, I think Gauthier should go out there and do everything he can to improve this team’s prospects for this season.

And that does NOT include going into “fire sale” mode.

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Exit Michael Cammalleri in a stunning turn of events involving number 13 and the Montreal Canadiens over the last 24 hours: pulled mid-game in Boston and shipped back to Calgary for Rene Bourque in a deal that also involves prospects and draft picks.

When I think of Michael Cammalleri in a Habs jersey, I think of the expectations, and a promise of greatness: we saw flashes of that from Cammalleri during his brief stay in Montreal. A terrific first season in Montreal before the injury bug bit. Habs fans wondered if he might be on course for a 40-goal season that year. There was that terrific playoff two seasons ago, and a solid, if brief, playoff run last season.

Halak set to face Habs

Jaroslav Halak says it’s great to be back in Montreal. But at the same time, the former Habs’ netminder says although Montreal felt like home when he played here, now he’s “on the other side.”

Halak says he’ll let the fans decide what kind of reaction he gets from the Bell Centre faithful when he takes to the ice tomorrow night against Carey Price and the Canadiens. Halak and the rest of the St. Louis Blues held a late-afternoon practice at the Bell Centre today.

For Halak, it was his first opportunity to “set foot” on Bell Centre ice following the trade that sent him from Montreal to St. Louis in June of 2010. As part of the trade, the Blues sent Lars Eller to the Habs. Halak says he might have a bit of a book on the Canadiens’ shooters, but at the same time, he says the Canadiens know his tendencies, too. “We’ll find out tomorrow,” said Halak.

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Martin did not skip a beat in answering the question.  Martin said a growing injury list had made room for Leblanc on the Canadiens. As players returned from sick bay, Martin said Leblanc would find himself back with the Hamilton Bulldogs, playing major minutes in all kinds of situations to continue his development as a pro.

Exit Jacques Martin.

On the day when Randy Cunneyworth was introduced as the new (interim) head coach of the Habs, General Manager Pierre Gauthier appeared to soft-peddle the inevitability that Leblanc would find himself back in the American Hockey League, sooner, rather than later. Assistant coach Larry Carriere seemed to drive that point home during the team’s recent road trip, when he suggested it would be difficult to send Leblanc back to Hamilton, considering how well he was playing.

Well, Louis Leblanc, a healthy scratch the last two games for the Habs, woke up this morning as a member of the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he will play major minutes and continue to develop as a pro.

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On a night when Subban stepped up to take his share of the blame for the Canadiens 5-1 loss in Chicago, there were plenty of Habs who should have stepped forward and taken responsibility.

“Looking at myself, I think I cost our team two games in a row,” said Subban.

Yes, Subban was minus two for the second straight game, but he was not alone in that department: Michael Cammalleri, Tomas Plekanec, Josh Gorges and Travis Moen were all minus THREE as the Canadiens dropped their fourth straight; the third in a row in the Randy Cunneyworth era; leaving Cunneyworth looking for his first win as the Canadiens’ INTERIM bench boss. The list goes on: Campoli, Kaberle, Desharnais and Pacioretty were all minus two.

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Some 12 hours after General Manager Pierre Gauthier fired Martin, the Habs took to the ice with Randy Cunneyworth at the helm.  Cunneyworth was named interim head coach after Gauthier had determined that the results he was seeing on the ice were unacceptable.

Funny.  That’s a word I would use to describe last night’s effort, as well: unacceptable.  After Gauthier pointed a finger squarely at Martin and the team’s inability to hold a lead, the Canadiens promptly went out and blew another lead: this one, a 3-2 advantage that Montreal had built up through the opening 30 minutes of last night’s hockey game.

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Tomas Kaberle picks up two assists — one of them on a POWER PLAY GOAL (yes, I’m shouting) in his Habs’ debut as the Canadiens beat the Jersey Devils 2-1 Saturday afternoon.

Great. Two assists. Tomas Kaberle is money in the bank. Or at least he was, in his opening 60 minutes as a member of the Bleu, Blanc, Rouge. Personally, I’d like to see what we’re going to get out of Kaberle for the rest of the regular season and (dare I say it) into the playoffs.

Kaberle took to the ice in New Jersey after being acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes (who were only too happy to get his fat salary off the books) in exchange for Jaroslav Spacek. And wouldn’t you know it: Spacek picks up two assists in HIS first game as a member of Kirk Muller’s Hurricanes, be it in a losing cause.

Spacek was into his final season as a member of the Canadiens: obtained during the off-season of massive change as an unrestricted free agent; during the same wave which saw Bob Gainey pick up the likes of Brian Gionta and Michael Cammalleri as UFA’s. Spacek was a solid citizen with the Habs during his stay in Montreal — although he spent much of this season in sick bay. I don’t think he ever delivered as per the expectations when Canadiens signed him. A few too many sketchy defensive moments and not enough offensive upside: but, by and large, I have no problems with his record as a member of the Habs.

The fact that the Canadiens sent him to Carolina for Kaberle tells me three things: GM Pierre Gauthier was desperate to shore up his power play with a defenceman who can move the puck and get a decent shot away from the point; that we’ll be lucky if we see Andrei Markov play a game this season, before the playoffs (just a hunch on my part); and Yannick Weber has taken a step back in his development in becomming a full-time blueliner on this team.

Although I’m less than impressed wit the deal that brings Kaberle and his contract to Montreal, I do give Gauthier credit in going out there and making a deal for a player he truly believes will help this team. Gauthier put his money where his mouth is. The question is: was it money well spent. I have my serious doubts.