Stu Cowan: Resurgent Canadien Sean Monahan draws praise all around

EDMONTON — The music in the Canadiens’ locker room was blaring after their 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down was playing and you could also hear the players celebrating before the door was opened to the media and the music was turned off.

That song has become the Canadiens’ victory song this season and it could also be the theme song for Sean Monahan, who assisted on goals by Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield in the win over Calgary.

Monahan arrived at the Saddledome a couple of hours before the game wearing a plastic walking cast on his right foot and he was wearing it again after the game while answering questions from the media.

Monahan was playing with pain — again — after taking a shot off his foot in a previous game.

Surgery on both hips during the last two years are the reason why Monahan ended up with the Canadiens.

Flames GM Brad Treliving wanted to dump the final year of Monahan’s contract with a US$6.375 million salary-cap hit so he could sign free-agent Nazem Kadri to a seven-year, US$49-million contract. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was willing to take on Monahan and his contract for “future considerations” after Treliving agreed to throw in a first-round pick at this year’s NHL draft, which was used to select Filip Mesar 26th overall.

Darren Dreger noted on TSN’s Insider Trading segment Thursday that Monahan was a victim of “cap gymnastics” in Calgary. Dreger added that Treliving thought he had a deal in place with the Arizona Coyotes for Monahan, but that trade fell through. Hughes had expressed interest to Treliving in Monahan, but wouldn’t be able to fit him under the salary cap until he knew for certain that Carey Price would go on the long term injured-reserve list, removing his US$10.5-million cap hit. After that happened, the trade was made.

“It sort of felt like it was almost a foregone conclusion that the Canadiens would turn around and flip Sean Monahan before the March 3 trade deadline and get another asset in all of this,” Pierre LeBrun said on TSN’s Insider Trading. “But here’s the interesting thing — Sean Monahan has played well, he’s fit in well on and off the ice. The Habs have been impressed with him and what’s happening right now is Habs management are having the discussion, should we actually keep this guy? Could he be part of our plans moving forward? I still think it’s more likely they move him, but the mere fact they’re having that discussion is an interesting development.”

Monahan has 5-11-16 totals in 23 games with the Canadiens, giving him one more point than Kadri (8-7-15) has in 23 games with the Flames.

Thursday’s game was Monahan’s first back in Calgary since the trade and it was an emotional night for him, including a video tribute on the scoreboard during the first period that drew a standing ovation from the fans while players on both benches stood up and banged their sticks on the boards.

Milan Lucic played with Monahan for three seasons with the Flames and saw the pain he endured. Monahan has said he had trouble walking and sleeping because of his hips. Lucic recalled watching Monahan being unable to sit for an extended period on team flights because of the pain, having to get up and move around.

“He had struggles here his last two years and a big part of that was the injuries that he was dealing with and they weren’t just minor injuries,” Lucic said. “When you have those hip injuries they’re big-time injuries. He’s one of those guys that doesn’t complain. He battles and plays through being hurt and being injured. We saw him in agony playing through injuries. To see him healthy again and having some early success … for a great person and a great teammate like him, it’s good to see.”

Lucic added it’s nice to see Monahan performing the way he is with the Canadiens because this is a contract year for the 28-year-old, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

“One of the things about him maybe that people don’t know, he’s such a generous person, such a generous teammate,” Lucic said. “He was really welcoming and such a great guy to me when I got traded here and we bonded right off the get-go. And another thing, too, you don’t realize how hard he works. He takes really good care of himself and works really hard in the offseason and he does every day, whether it’s a practice or a game day to get himself ready to play. He played through a lot — especially his last couple of years here, battling those hip injuries. It’s just nice to see him healthy again and playing like himself. Great teammate, great person, great guy and you wish him all the best.”

Hughes could have a tough decision to make at the trade deadline.

scowan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/StuCowan1

1. Will Price, Markov see their Canadiens jerseys rise to rafters? | HI/O Bonus

2. Stu Cowan: Xhekaj, Kovacevic share Canadiens bond forged in Steeltown

3. In the Habs Room: 'It was a fun game,' Monahan says about 2-1 victory