There's something about things happening in threes I suppose. This week it involved three celebrity legends in their own field.

First Merv Griffin goes. Then Phil Rizzuto. And finally, former Montreal Canadiens general manager Sam Pollock died the other night at age 81.

I never met Sam Pollock, and he retired long before I covered my first NHL game. But the thing everyone who was in Montreal understood about Pollock during his era was that he was the guy who kept the Canadiens great. And that was worth admiring.

The Habs really were great during the 14 seasons Pollock was at the helm, winning nine Stanley Cups and losing a 10th in the Finals. He was a lifer with the organization, joining in 1947 and working up the ranks until he became general manager in 1964 and then leaving a great organization in even better than he found it.

When Pollock replaced another legend named Frank Selke, the Canadiens had gone four consecutive seasons without a Stanley Cup. That didn't sit well in Montreal, even though the Canadiens had won five championships in a row before that and had future Hall of Famers from those teams like Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard still with several good seasons left in them. But it was Pollock's direction that took the dynasty to its next generation while keeping it on top.

He ran things with an iron fist, which general managers in a small league back then could do simply by keeping train tickets to minor-league stops in the jacket pocket. And he never paid a player a dime more than necessary, which didn't always win him friends, just respect. But Pollock's true virtuosity was his incredible ability to assess incoming young talent, and when to get rid of veterans past their primes.

The NHL had only six teams when I started watching the Canadiens win Stanley Cups, and I was always amazed at how the deals in which Pollock looked like he was snookered always ended up turning out well for Montreal. Pollock drafted greats like Larry Robinson, Bob Gainey and Serge Savard, traded for stars like Ken Dryden and Frank Mahovlich and always seemed to be one step ahead of anyone else.

Like the time he wheeled and dealed in early 1971. Pollock wanted a shot at drafting a franchise-type player named Guy Lafleur that spring and made a trade to get what he figured would be the first draft pick by sending a has-been named Ernie Hicke to the California Golden Seals. But as bad as the Seals were, they were being given a run for last place and the top pick by the Los Angeles Kings, something Pollock couldn't watch without doing anything.

So in January of that season, Pollock traded a veteran center named Ralph Backstrom, who was once a rookie of the year for Montreal and wanted to finish his career in a warmer climate. Pollock accommodated him with a trade to Los Angeles, and Backstrom exploded over the final 33 games with 27 points including 14 goals.

The Kings finished 18 points ahead of the Seals, Montreal took Lafleur with the first pick and won five more Stanley Cups before the decade was over. Pollock's legacy was excellence.

Obviously there's going to be a love fest around Lightning land at the outset because no one wants to get off on the wrong foot. But you have to wonder if the mutual admiration society between new part-owner Doug MacLean, a former coach and GM, and those who now hold those positions in Tampa Bay, will stand the test of time.

MacLean, who has never been shy about expressing his opinions, will have a lot to keep him busy in the coming months. Even so, he made it clear at his introductory press conference that he intends to be a hands-on owner, although one who will leave the "final" hockey calls to current GM Jay Feaster, whose efforts MacLean said he respected.

That could work because Feaster has done a fine job since becoming GM in Tampa Bay six years ago and has the 2004 Stanley Cup on his resume. For that matter, so does coach John Tortorella, who took over behind the bench around the same time Feaster came on board. And MacLean described him as one of the "good" coaches in the NHL.

But the front man for the Lightning's new ownership group has always come across as a control freak, especially when he was general managing -- badly, one might add -- the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was quick to pull the trigger on three coaches during his playoff-less tenure there, and even took over behind the bench for parts of two seasons. So having him in position to call shots with no one to answer to can't be a particularly comfortable situation for either Feaster or Tortorella.

Naturally they're not letting on. In fact, in interviews with the St. Petersberg Times, they both focused on the positives of having MacLean on board. Feaster said it will be an advantage having his boss nearby instead of in Detroit, where outgoing owner William Davidson lives.

"It has been a very difficult and challenging process from that standpoint," Feaster said. "The ability to knock on a door upstairs or down the hall, that's going to be kind of liberating. We're getting it straight from the owner."

Tortorella stuck a similar chord.

"I welcome this because it's enthusiasm, and it's a passion," he said. "Jay and I beat our heads against the wall in the years we worked together that we didn't have the passion from Detroit about this team."

Sounds good doesn't it? Let's see what they'll all be saying a few months down the road.