McKenzie: I said no such thing

TSN’s Bob McKenzie is denying reports that he said the Montreal Canadiens and San Jose Sharks are talking trade.

Earlier reports indicated that McKenzie had reported on TSN’s airways that the Canadiens were discussing sending forwards Saku Koivu and Michael Ryder to the San Jose Sharks in return for forwards Patrick Marleau and one of Steve Bernier or Joe Pavelski.

That’s not the case, however.

“I said no such thing. Not even close.”

These erroneous reports are believed to have taken flight from one of McKenzie’s appearances on Montreal radio station TEAM 990 where he stated that the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Montreal Canadiens are actively looking to improve their rosters.

“What I said on my regular appearance on the TEAM 990 on Monday morning is that even though it’s next to impossible to make a trade in today’s NHL, some teams – notably Anaheim for obvious reasons as well as the Sharks, who were destroyed by Buffalo on home ice on the weekend, and the Canadiens, who are in a swoon – are working extra hard to make something happen.”

McKenzie noted that if the Sharks go through another slump, the club’s GM, Doug Wilson, may have to make a move. And with that, rumors of forward Patrick Marleau being dealt could start again. Canadiens’ GM Bob Gainey is in a similar situation where he is likely to make a move if his struggling club can’t bring itself out of their slump.

But that’s as far as McKenzie went. He never linked the Canadiens and Sharks in any sort of trade rumors.

“My point was simply to say that several NHL teams – primarily Anaheim, San Jose and Montreal – are working extra hard to make something happen in an environment where it’s almost impossible to get a deal done and maybe, just maybe, we will get some trade action prior to Christmas.”

The TSN analyst was only trying to point out that the Ducks, Sharks, and Canadiens are trying to ignite the trade market and make some moves.

“How it went from that to me supposedly saying Marleau-Bernier for Koivu-Ryder, which doesn’t appear to make a whole lot of sense, is absolutely beyond my comprehension.”