Canadian: a team photo with smiles

In the world of the Canadiens, a year sometimes feels like a decade. A year ago, Marc Bergevin and Geoff Molson took part in the traditional team photo in a context of great tension.

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On October 19, 2021, the article by colleague Marc de Foy was titled: It’s turning into a circus.

We have to step back a little in time. CH had a difficult start to the season with no wins in their first three games. It wasn’t just on the ice that there was discontent. Also on the seventh floor.

Bergevin, despite a presence in the Stanley Cup final, had not initialed a contract extension with the team. And Molson, the owner, hardly spoke publicly.

In his article last year, De Foy wrote that Bergevin was there for the photo, but only in body. The general manager had not interacted with his owner and his players.

We know the rest. There was a huge sweep in the hockey men of the Habs last year. Scott Mellanby, Bergevin, Trevor Timmins and Dominique Ducharme all ended up losing their jobs. The CH had the worst campaign in its history, finishing in 32^e and last place overall with 55 points (22-49-11).

A different context

We now come back to the present. The day after that 6-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, the CH held its first of two annual team photos.

And there was no tension in the air. Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle showed their beautiful teeth, David Savard and Josh Anderson had fun teasing their slightly smaller neighbor, Cole Caufield, and Nick Suzuki took center stage in his role as captain.

Kent Hughes, on a recruiting mission, was not there. But we will find a place for the DG in the photo by the magic of technology. There was no scandal related to his absence. France Margaret Bélanger, president of sports and entertainment, also wrote a page of history by becoming the first woman to obtain a place for the official CH photo as a member of the hockey executive committee.

Good start

After five games, the Habs have a record of three wins and two losses. Martin St-Louis has found the right recipe to fire up his players after a camp during which the club hadn’t won in eight games (0-6-2).

“Hmm, I don’t know if I could expect such a start,” said St-Louis. But I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. We were zero in eight at camp, but I liked the way we played. For me, it was reassuring. We very rarely played a match with a better formation than the other team during the camp. There were several young people in our formation and we were looking to implement new things. We weren’t just focusing on results. I liked the progress of the team, not just individually, but collectively as well. »

If he is happy with the start of the season for his young team, the head coach also recalled that the adrenaline will eventually subside and that we will return to a form of normality in a long schedule of 82 games.

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Not always like in Rocky 4

Asked if he could maintain this intensity over a long period, the former glory of the Tampa Bay Lightning made a cinematic reference.

“Sometimes it’s not the coach who is responsible for motivating the guys on a day-to-day basis,” he recalled. The coach will not return before each game with a speech of Rocky 4. It doesn’t happen that way. Yes, sometimes the coach has to inspire his players. But we also have to make decisions as a group. There are sometimes events during a match that will unite the players. We’re talking about things that happen organically. If you try to inspire your players before every game, you end up losing your impact. »