Happy anniversary, Josh

Wow. Today marks the 4-year anniversary of the trade that brought Josh Gorges to the Montreal Canadiens. Four whole years. That's a long time. Am I supposed to know everything a grown-up hockey fan knows by now? Please say no.

Anyway, when Josh became a Hab I couldn't even be called "Rookie" yet. I was, at best, a draft prospect. I couldn't even have told you that the freshly traded Craig Rivet was assistant captain, or that that was what it means when there's an "A" on someone's jersey. I only found out after hearing all the complaints from people I knew that assistant captains shouldn't be traded away for no reason. While I may still think that the concept of trading hockey players is a little cruel and kind of barbaric, I didn't really get why all the frustrated fans, already missing Rivet, were already complaining about what the Canadiens got in return. All the "we don't even know who this guy is!" and comments of the like just seemed hurtful. Here was a guy that no one knew anything about, and they were already writing him off. Being the kind soul that I am (when it comes to Habs) I told everyone to give the new guy a chance, and I tried to lead by example. It worked out pretty well for me, I think.

He came to the team at about the same time as I did, so obviously I'm sort of attached to him. I told people not to hate on the new guy. I cheered when he (finally) scored his first goal as a Hab. I gasped when I saw him pick a fight with Dion Phaneuf. I was inconsolable when he took a puck to the head. I smiled when I saw media outlets and teammates saying he'd make a great captain for the greatest franchise in NHL history. And I really, really wish he wasn't missing most of this season.

Happy anniversary, Josh. Here's to four more years (or more, hopefully).

(Also a very happy anniversary to the Canadian Olympic women's hockey team. One year ago today, they won gold! I couldn't be prouder.)