All positives come from Canadiens recalling John Scott

Just call it another chapter in what has become a fairy-tale season for John Scott.

Heck, he even joked to the media: “It’s almost like a movie, right?”

With just a few games left in a campaign they would probably like to forget as quickly as possible, the Montreal Canadiens recalled the notorious tough guy, who has yet to play a game for the Habs since the controversial trade that sent him to their AHL affiliate from the Arizona Coyotes.

But this end to the big man’s up-and-down season is a winning scenario for everybody. Montreal gets a boost for the last couple games of the season, fans have more of a reason to tune in and Scott gets another chance to hit NHL ice.

“John’s got such a zest for life,” defenseman P.K. Subban said with a smile. “I look forward to the jokes in the dressing room. I think that’s fun, that’s the stuff that you remember going into the offseason.”

Before that offseason hits, Montreal is probably hoping that the 33-year-old winger brings some of that “zest” to the ice, given how depleted the team has been by injury this year. Scott  even joked that “half the team I met at St. John’s” in reference to the number of call-ups due to injury. The assumption is that his rep with the IceCaps carries over to the big club.

“He’s a great guy to be around,” coach Michel Thierren said. “Since he joined the organization, he went to St. John’s and he had a great attitude. He was really good for the young kids over there.”

As for being recalled at the very end of the season, Scott is approaching the opportunity to play for the Habs with the same good nature that he has maintained all season long.

“I don’t think they owe me anything. I just think  they’re doing me a really solid favor,” he reportedly said in his lighthearted talk with  the media after Monday’s morning skate. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for the Canadiens.”

Perhaps getting to participate in All-Star Weekend  simmered some of the ill will that was displayed in Scott’s essay printed in The Players’ Tribune just before the festivities got underway in Nashville. In fact, when asked about the midseason trade, Scott replied: “I don’t even want to get into that. It was a long time ago and it’s in the past, so I don’t even want to rehash any of that stuff.”

Or maybe the call-up gives him more hope of returning to NHL ice next season, with his current one-year deal done with the 2015-16 season.

“I thought maybe I’d played my last (NHL) game this year,” Scott admitted. “But I think I can get back to the NHL, even next year.”

Whether this is his last hurrah or not, it is expected that the fans at Bell Centre will give him a warm reception on Tuesday when the Habs host the Panthers. Even with a season that has left the fan base disappointed, there doesn’t seem to be any doubt among Scott’s teammates that he will be well-received.

“I’m sure they’re are going to be excited,” forward Brendan Gallagher said of Habs fans. “I think the fans responded very well to him at the All-Star Game, and it won’t be any different here in Montreal.”

Thierren remarked that: “By respect, we want to give him an opportunity to play one game with the Montreal Canadiens.”

Will Scott really only play one game in the final week of the season?

“Unless I go out and maybe score a hat trick,” Scott said with a chuckle.