VANCOUVER – Freshly freed from the tempest that can be Montreal, the newest Devil has come up roses after stepping on the ski slope, a brouhaha that proved his ticket to New Jersey.
“I don’t think it was fair. I didn’t do anything dangerous,” Vladimir Malakhov told The Post yesterday, before his first game with the Devils, facing the Canucks and Mark Messier here last night.
While recuperating from a recurring knee injury last month, Malakhov reportedly was seen on skis on the bunny hill, and was suspended by the Canadiens. When he returned to action, he was booed by the Montreal fans, and responded with egging-on gestures. He was promptly dealt to the Devils on Wednesday for Sheldon Souray and prospect Josh DeWolf, with a 2001 second-rounder.
Malakhov figured he might as well give his side of the story.
“I put my 5-year-old [Anthony] on skis for the first time. It was no steeper than a driveway. It was the slope for the kids,” Malakhov said. “I know how to ski, but I was not going to take a chance on my bad knee. I know that if I hurt myself, it would be bad.
“But somebody saw me. I got a phone call that the Montreal coach wanted to see me, and the rest you know.”
Malakhov said that the incident was blown beyond proportion, and that some words may have been misinterpreted.
“I found out later that some guy saw me in ski boots, but in Montreal, things like that snowball, just getting bigger and bigger,” Malakhov said. “I got a suspension, and they started to boo me.”
Malakhov, an ex-Islander, said he was glad to be out of the Montreal spotlight, and with the Devils, back in the metropolitan area.
“It’s very exciting. It’s a very good team with a good chance to win the Cup,” the 31-year-old said. “I’m going to be nervous at first.”
Due to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Malakhov flew here Friday night. He missed Thursday’s loss in Denver while undergoing a physical and knee exam, which he passed in New Jersey, and while his immigration papers were being settled.
With New Jersey, Malakhov joins assistant coach Slava Fetisov, whom he has known since he was 16.
“It’s a pretty long relationship, but now it’s going to be changing. He’s going to be my coach,” Malakhov said. “It’s going to be a friendship, too.”
Malakhov was given No. 7, and was expected to make his Devil debut last night, while injuries and illness bumped defenseman Brad Bombardir to forward duty. Randy McKay was expected to sit out with a right ankle bruise, Sergei Nemchinov with a stiff neck, and Petr Sykora suffering the after-effects of the flu.
Messier did not attend the Canucks’ morning skate yesterday, but was expected to play his 1,462nd NHL game last night, seventh-most all-time.
Canuck GM Brian Burke continued to deny that any talks have taken place with anyone that would send the 39-year-old anywhere, including New Jersey or Washington.
Messier had 13 points in 13 games to lead the Canucks’ back into the realm of playoff longshots, and notched his 1,700th career point against Anaheim on Thursday.
Vancouver had gone 5-1-2 in its last eight, but entered last night seven points (with two games in hand) behind eighth-place San Jose in the Western Conference playoff race.
Both the Devils and Canucks had incentive last night, since a Devil victory would have dimmed Vancouver’s playoff hopes, improving the chance that Messier might be traded, while a Vancouver triumph would keep Canuck hopes alive, making it less likely that Burke would trade Messier, or that he would agree to a move.
Canuck coach Marc Crawford made a veiled reference to the spot where Messier would likely fit in New Jersey, as he concluded his assessment of Scott Gomez.
“To be able to come in and contribute on a team where everyone pays his dues, and [Gomez] hasn’t, is something. It’s a nice combination with him on one side and Claude Lemieux on the other. That’s a pretty interesting combination,” Crawford said. … Devils visit Calgary tonight, then head to Hilton Head, S.C., for a break before visiting Atlanta, Washington and Pittsburgh to conclude seven-game road trip. …
Devils were 2-1 in three but 2-5 in seven, shut out in Colorado on Thursday, the first time they had been blanked in 111 games. … Devils had scored only 12 goals in seven games.
