Ask Gerv! No. 12

In his three decades as a member of the Canadiens' organization, head equipment manager Pierre Gervais has picked up his share of insider info from within the Bell Centre's walls. In this week's edition of Ask Gerv!, learn how to get a player to write you back, which current Hab is most likely to leave home without a key piece of equipment, and what happens after a player gets ejected from a game.

To read the previous edition, click
here
.
1. Question from Christophe Brown, via Twitter.
How does the team manage autograph requests received by mail?
The players get their mail every so often, and they respond to requests at their own convenience. People must include a return envelope - with postage. Guys are very on top of their game with these requests usually. I'll often see them sitting in the lounge, signing autographs and putting them back in envelopes - the same way Jean Beliveau, did for so many years.
*Fans wishing to request autographs should address their letters to a specific player and send it to:
1275 St. Antoine St. W., Montreal, QC H3C 5L2
The Bell Centre receptionist sorts the mail, without opening it. Players receive mail in their lockers at the Bell Sports Complex and are responsible for answering it.

2. Question from Melanie Carbonneau, via Facebook.
Which player loses the most equipment?
The guys don't really lose their equipment, but I could say Alex Galchenyuk will forget things once in a while. He can sometimes leave some things behind here and there. We have backups of everything, just in case, but the equipment always travels with the team. It'll often be personal things, like under gear, that get left behind. The players take care of packing their personal items and he'll often say, "I put it in my bag and now it's not there!" The thing is, we don't open their bags! (laughs) I think I must've given him something like 40 pairs of shorts last year, it just got funny after a while!
3. Question from PeperleTheNinja, via Twitter.
On a scale from 1-10, how mad were you when Andrew Shaw hit the stick rack and knocked everything down?
Those kinds of things don't bother me. I understand the players and I understand that their emotions can run high. If he hit me, maybe I'd be upset, but the stick rack… that's just part of the game. Those kinds of things are never against us, it's just in the heat of the moment and they always, always apologize after the fact. There's never been a guy who hasn't apologized afterwards in the locker room. They'll come up to you and tell you they're sorry, or take you out for lunch on the road, that's their way of saying they're sorry.