Last Friday night, the Montreal Canadiens -- excuse me, les Canadiens de Montréal -- used their first pick in the NHL's annual Entry Draft to select Edina, Minnesota's Danny Kristo. It was a largely unremarkable pick, except for the fact that it was the third consecutive year in which the Habs drafted a Minnesotan with their initial selection (last year they nabbed St. Paul's Ryan McDonagh 12th overall and in 2006 they snagged Minneapolis-born David Fischer with the 20th pick).

"Just a coincidence," according to director of player personnel Trevor Timmins.

It's probably also a coincidence that the Kristo pick marked the sixth time this decade that Montreal has called an American-born player's name as their first pick (Ron Hainsey, Mike Komisarek and Christopher Higgins, drafted between 2000 and 2002, round out the Yankee half-dozen), and that the Habs took Americans with three of their five picks in this year's draft and with five of their nine picks last year (including first-rounders McDonagh and Max Pacioretty).

Coincidences aside, it's clear that the Habs aren't afraid to go south of the border for help of late (much to the chagrin of some of their fans and members of the local media). Upon being drafted last year, Pacioretty noted that it "seems like the Canadiens have a lot of confidence in U.S.-born players." Apparently so -- the "Bleu, Blanc et Rouge" has hardly (if ever) looked as red, white and blue as it might in the near future.

But, as U.S. College Hockey Online notes, "It would be surprising to see this trend continue in 2009, as the Canadiens will play host to next year's Draft. One can only imagine how the Bell Centre crowd would react should the blue, blanc et rouge turn to another Yankee."

And yet, I'm not so sure. The last time the draft was held in Montreal, the Habs picked an American in the first round, and who wouldn't want another David Wilkie on their squad? Zut alors!

Guy Lafleur was a legendary hockey player and beloved disco fashion icon for the Montreal Canadiens. His son, obviously not wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, instead decided to become a lecherous predator.

Today, the younger Lafleur pleaded guilty to 14 criminal charges. Father must be proud.

Mark Lafleur pleaded guilty to accusations including assault, uttering threats to a minor and forcible confinement of a 17-year-old girl.

Lafleur was first arrested in January 2007. The 23-year-old has been in jail since November, when his bail was revoked for breaking conditions.

Last winter, Guy Lafleur was plunged into controversy when he was accused of offering contradictory testimony at his son's bail hearing. He testified last October that his son was respecting a court-ordered curfew while in his parents' custody.

The Hall of Famer later admitted he drove his son to hotels to spend the night with his 16-year-old girlfriend.

The reason why this story is of note to hockey fans is that Lafleur is one of the more beloved players in the province of Quebec, ever, and this whole mess with his son has drastically tarnished his image as a happy-go-lucky kinda guy.

Lafleur is so worried about his reputation that he is suing a Montreal police detective and a Crown prosecutor for $3.5 million, claiming his arrest in January damaged his "reputation and earnings."

Well, lying to the police and assisting your son in committing crime and breaking curfew pretty much tarnishes your image on its own, doesn't it?

If you're a hockey fan, it might make sense to keep your eyes open on eBay over the next few weeks.

Why do I write that? Because it was only a few days ago that Pete Mahovlich, a 4-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s and a member of the 1972 Summit Series team that defeated the USSR, had a pair of commemorative rings and a watch stolen from his car while he was playing golf in St. Catherine's, Ontario:

Mahovlich said he had taken off the rings and a watch and put them in one of the car's cupholders.

One of the rings was for the eight-game 1972 series, which Canada won four games to three. One game was tied.

Mahovlich scored a goal in Game 2 of the series. Canada won that game 4-1.

The other ring, given to Mahovlich by the Montreal Canadiens Alumni Association, commemorates his four Stanley Cup wins with the team in 1971, 1973, 1976 and 1977.

The watch that was swiped was originally presented to Mahovlich when he and the rest of the 1972 were inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Though few fans today probably remember his name, Mahovlich scored more than 30 goals in a season four times, and scored over 100 points in a season twice. And if you've ever had a chance to read The Game by Ken Dryden, you'd know that Mahovlich played a very important role on many of those Cup-winning teams that extended far beyond the ice and the locker room.