This Week in Sports: February 22nd

NHL:

While the Habs flounder down the stretch as they attempt to reach a miraculous playoff spot, reality is starting to set in for Canadiens management. Pierre Gauthier shipped popular defenseman Hal Gill, who is scheduled to become a free agent this summer, to Nashville for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney and a 2nd round pick in this years NHL Draft. The trade has been given a unanimous thumbs up, considering the amount Gauthier got back, not to mention the family ties Geoffrion has to the Habs; he's the son of brief Hab Danny Geoffrion, grandson of the inventor of the slapshot, Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, and great-grandson of the legendary Howie Morenz (both Geoffrion and Morenz have their numbers retired by the Habs). Geoffrion will provide good size, speed, and grit on the Habs bottom two lines as soon as next year, and if the Habs capitalize on the pick they received, this trade could become a huge win for the Habs.

NBA:

While the Miami Heat seem to always be in the news for various reasons, Lebron James seems to attract the most attention, either by his own accord or simply for being Lebron. Last week, he brought it upon himself by coming out before his team's matchup against his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, by saying that it wasn't out of the question that he could one day return to his old stomping grounds. This set off the usual amount of hype and debate among fans and experts alike, and set off the still-hurting Cleveland fanbase, who mercilessly booed James during the Heat-Cavs game the next day... someone should tell Lebron to stop adding fuel to the fire. Karma has already bit his team once, he should focus on playing ball and not worry about something that would probably only be a reality years and years from now.

MLB:

Pitchers and catchers are starting to report around Major League spring training facilities, and perhaps the biggest story of the week was the announcement that much-maligned slugger Manny Ramirez is making a return to the big leagues with the Oakland Athletics after signing a one-year, $500,000 contract earlier in the week. It remains to be seen if Ramirez has anything left to give to a major league team, after coming off a long suspension and a brief retirement. If he pans out, though, the A's add a huge bat that will definitely help them offensively.

-Andrew Maggio co-hosts Game Misconduct every Sunday from 12pm-2pm and runs a dedicated Habs blog that you can check out here