Every day, players who find themselves have to go through the COVID-19 protocol.
Matches are postponed until later.
In Canada, the stands are empty, in the United States, it is as if the pandemic does not exist unless we consult the list of players who have received positive tests.
We are looking for solutions, but we cannot find any.
However, isn’t one of the decisions that we should take to postpone a match?
The all-star game, we agree.
I would like to believe that Gary Bettman is making it an annual event in order to invite the major sponsors of the league, those who will, this year, allow professional hockey to reach the plateau of five billion in terms of revenue.
Hockey being a business, we can understand Bettman.
On the other hand, the pandemic should not be invited to the party and to avoid it, the cancellation of the all-star game seems an option that cannot be rejected.
Already, it is believed that players will take advantage of the pandemic to forfeit. We do not want to take unnecessary risks if we want to prepare well for the final sprint. Usually, when a player invited to the All-Star game withdraws, he is given a one-game suspension, so obviously he cannot prove that he had a good reason for being absent.
What Gary Bettman should understand is that the National League is keen to present 82 games. That we are going to draw up a new calendar which will be even more demanding for the players. If we really want to make a five-day truce for the presentation of this annual match, a match that has no meaning, then why not take the opportunity to stop activities for five days so that we can get started? in the second half of the season with a roster in better shape?
By the way, if the pandemic has served the cause of the owners well in the file of the participation of skaters in the Beijing Games, how can we explain the presentation of an all-star game in the middle of a season already marked by the discount 81 games, as of January 6?
The CEO: tic, tic, Tic …
So the countdown is on.
The first steps of the selection committee, especially Jeff Gorton, were said to have been successful, as permission was obtained to speak to the main candidates.
The opposite would have been surprising because the teams will always allow one of their employees to improve their working conditions.
Who will be the lucky one ?
I presume that your choice undoubtedly meets several criteria attached to the selection of the candidate. They all have interesting qualities, different in many cases, but it will be up to the members of the committee and especially Jeff Gorton to make the decision.
I find it hard to see members of the committee proposing a candidate who will not have Gorton’s agreement. After all, he will be the boss. He was hired to relaunch the dealership with the staff he deems most qualified to support him in this adventure.
Let us not forget that the task will be difficult.
After all, if Marc Bergevin could not come to an agreement with the owner, it is because he has been criticized for several decisions taken in recent years.
- Brendan Gallagher’s contract will be heavy to bear.
- The repeated absences of Carey Price call into question the status of the goalkeeper.
- In terms of recruitment, we must ensure that the mistakes of the past, and there are many, will not be repeated. We will therefore have to improve the staff.
Which candidate will present the business model that really meets the new business objectives? Which candidate will prove to be a high-level ally for the VP of Operations?
Next please …
Well done Chantal!
We can only welcome the appointment of Chantal Machabée to the post of vice-president of communications for the Canadiens.
I had the pleasure and the privilege of working alongside Chantal during my years at RDS. She has always exercised her profession with great determination and, also, with boundless passion.
All these qualities, she will apply them to make this new challenge a success.
Her great generosity will allow her to stand out in a new, more demanding context, but she will surely be able to adapt to it with the same passion that characterizes her.
Already, the fact that she is thinking of “repatriating” the former players of the organization who have been “forgotten” over the last few seasons shows that she wants the history of the organization to deserve it. respect.
A guard please
Find a good goalie and usually you will find a good coach. Dave Tippett realizes more and more that his room for maneuver is shrinking every day. But can we blame him for the Edmonton Oilers’ failures? Was Ken Holland reckless in keeping the two current goalies? Absoutely. He should have made it a priority in the summer to find a high-level goalkeeper. Now he has to compile a list of guards, most of whom are reservists. Well, for the most part. There is Marc-André Fleury who is an interesting candidate. Are there still resources left at Braden Holtby? Semyon Varlamov is an interesting case in a team, that of the Islanders, which risks missing the playoffs. Do we have Jake Allen on this list? We should, under the circumstances …
I watched the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night and Alain Vigneault’s departure didn’t change anything. Why ? Carter Hart is unpredictable. Ryan Ellis, who was to be the number one player in the defensive squad, has only played four games this season. Sean Couturier is once again on the sidelines. Travis Konecny is having an ordinary season. And there is the Claude Giroux case, who will be able to take advantage of his free agent status without compensation, next July. Will he be back in Philadelphia? I highly doubt it.