Former first-round pick wants no further association with the Montreal Canadiens

Some athletes walk away from a tough stretch and never look back.

For Scott Gomez, walking away from Montreal wasn't enough.

Years after his time with the Canadiens ended, he's still keeping the city at arm's length, and a recent story shows the distance is very much intentional.

Journalist Richard Labbé recently opened up about trying to book a Zoom interview with Gomez through the NHL Network.

Things looked set, the interview was confirmed, and then about an hour later the answer changed completely.

No interview. No Montreal talk. Nothing connected to the Canadiens at all.

It goes back to one of the roughest stretches any player has gone through in a Canadiens sweater.

Gomez went 369 days without scoring a goal while wearing the CH, a drought that turned into a full spectacle around the city.

Fans built websites just to guess when he'd finally score again.

Every touch of the puck at the Bell Centre brought mocking cheers.

Some fans even showed up in sombreros, poking at his Latin American roots in a way that clearly left a mark.

Gomez arrived in 2009 in the trade that sent Ryan McDonagh to the Rangers, a deal that was supposed to be a home run for Montreal and instead became one of the more painful what ifs in franchise history.

McDonagh went on to a long, successful NHL career, and Gomez became a cautionary tale.

Whatever bitterness remains, it's clear the wound never closed.

Gomez isn't interested in revisiting any of it, and based on how firmly he's shut the door, it doesn't look like that's changing anytime soon.

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