Brisebois became everything Montreal fans warned us he would be. I simply couldn’t believe any defensive player could be that bad, especially one that was good enough to play for and win the Stanley Cup. I bought the story that the media pressure and booing were affecting his play in Montreal.

Brisebois was just a huge contradiction as a player. When he had the freedom of time and was skating up ice in transition he made horrible decisions. A time that a defenseman should be the most comfortable and least prone to make mistakes. Instead, when Brisebois was on the PK or working in the corners he played his best hockey. Granted, it wasn’t great hockey but it was Brisebois’ best. The PK worked for him I think because he played the same dysfunctional type of hockey that Skrastins played, and that was containment hockey. Keep players to the outside and poke check up the boards. Only Brisebois didn’t/couldn’t block shots like Skrastins and he didn’t/couldn’t play in front of his own net.

Lesson learned here? I’d say that no matter what, you cannot blame a player’s performance on their local media or pressure. If they are good hockey players they will be as good in Florida as they are in Toronto.