Great story about a great guy that came in my Habs newsletter...


When the Canadiens kicked off 2012 by signing Josh Gorges to a six-year contract, they locked up a lot more than just a shutdown defenseman. A leader both on and off the ice, the Habs’ unsung hero can now be counted as a building block in the team’s foundation until at least the 2017-18 season.

The questions surrounding Gorges heading into the 2011-12 campaign were focused on how the 27-year-old defenseman would rebound from a knee surgery that had brought his previous season to an end after just 36 games. The answer fans got was a Gorges whose game was better than ever, staking his claim as the Habs’ most consistent defenseman over the first half of the season. By the time 2011 ended, the young veteran led all Canadiens with a plus-6 differential and built up his shot-blocking resume to a NHL-leading 101 over 39 games.

Joining Tomas Plekanec as the two Habs currently under the lengthiest contracts with the team, much of Gorges success on the ice comes from doing the often elusive “little things” that hockey players so regularly refer to. For the Kelowna, B.C. native, those encompass everything from blocking shots and winning one-on-one battles to communicating with teammates or simply putting the team first at every turn. Newcomer, Chris Campoli, discovered that firsthand in a preseason win over the Lightning when Gorges went toe-to-toe with 6-foot-4, 219-pound Ryan Malone in Campoli’s defense after the Habs rearguard suffered a questionable hit to the head.

Using the fact that he was never initially drafted into the NHL as motivation to fuel a tireless work ethic, Gorges signed as a free agent with the Sharks in 2002 before coming to Montreal five years later, playing 308 of his 404 career games to date as a member of the Canadiens. Should Gorges ever find himself in need of motivation, he won’t have to look far. Behind the Habs’ bench, assistant coach Randy Ladouceur was also passed over at draft time despite going on to play over 900 NHL games and captaining both the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Hartford Whalers during his career. On the ice, teammate David Desharnais took a similar route into the league and currently stands as one of the team’s top offensive forces of 2011-12.

Gorges would have had the chance to test the free agent market at the end of what is poised to be a career year, but the veteran blue-liner made it clear from Day 1 that there was only one city he wanted to call home.

“I said right from the start that this is where I want to be,” expressed Gorges following the announcement of his new contract. “I’ve been here with Carey [Price] for a few years and we really feel like we started something here.

“If you ask him, he’ll probably give you the same answer – we want to see this through until the end,” he added. “We want to work together and win together until we achieve that final goal.”