Three Canadiens Reportedly Tied to Accused Gang Member

While the Canadiens already had a difficult week with losses in seven of their last eight games and the team falling further down the playoff picture, things just got a whole lot worse for the Habs in La Belle Province this morning.

The week began by keeping Alexei Kovalev at home while the team went on a two-game road trip and demoted one of its young stars, Sergei Kostitsyn, down to the minors. Now, as they return home to Quebec this morning, the team is facing a damaging newspaper report where three of its players allegedly were closely associated with an accused drug trafficker who police say is tied to a gang.

The French-language La Presse newspaper in Montreal reports that Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn were closely associated with Pasquale Mangiola, who was arrested last week and police say helped set up the brothers when they arrived in Montreal with cars and housing, and also had access to the pair's credit cards and financial records. The report also says whenever the brothers needed something, say vodka or a luxury car, Magnolia would be the person the brothers would call to help them out.

Magnolia, 38, is a big hockey fan and was more than happy to help them - even as he unknowingly was being recorded as police were investigating reports of distributing cocaine and his ties to a gang.

The Kostitsyns also reportedly were joined by another member of the Canadiens, Roman Hamrlik, and they were frequently seen together in the bars and restaurants along St. Lawrence Boulevard in Montreal.

Upon the time of his arrest, Magnolia was reportedly to have found some of the Kostitsyn's financial paperwork in his possession, and right now, the three players aren't considered to be tied to any of Magnolia's criminal activity.

However, it is a huge black eye for one of sports' proudest franchises, and with the team struggling to make the playoffs, it's going to be interesting to see if the team can shake out of its tailspin.

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