The observation has been made by many journalists and supporters, but it is even more striking when formulated by the general manager himself: leadership is a problem for the Canadian.
Posted at 5:17 p.m.
Updated at 10:45 p.m.
This was recognized by the new general manager of the Canadiens, Kent Hughes, in an interview with two representatives of The Press, Sunday afternoon. During that same interview, he said he was willing to trade defenseman Jeff Petry “if it works out on both sides.” We will come back to it.
But the question of leadership was unavoidable, the day after yet another thaw (that of 7-2 against Edmonton on Saturday, for those who have lost track).
“We often hear about the lack of leadership, about what Shea Weber, Corey Perry, Carey Price brought to the team. It’s definitely something we’ll be looking at this summer, how to get experience, leaders,” said Hughes.
The lack of response to Zack Kassian, who hit goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault with impunity, exposed this lack of esprit de corps. Petry, with her shy response, made many people rage.
“Mentally, it’s not easy,” Hughes said in a 30-minute interview. There are players like Ben Chiarot who are in the last year of their contract… There is a certain uncertainty, it’s difficult for him. We have some players who, at the moment, mentally… I wouldn’t say they’ve let the team down, but they’re not in a good place mentally. We see it on the ice, in body language. We see some frustration. »
The Kassian-Montembeault incident obviously caught the attention of the team’s staff. For Jeff Gorton, executive vice president of hockey operations, there was certainly an air of deja vu.
In the final days of Gorton’s tenure as New York Rangers general manager, Capitals strongman Tom Wilson pummeled forwards Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich in rather authoritative fashion, raising questions about the toughness of the Rangers. Gorton was fired two days later, and Rangers have since acquired tough guys Ryan Reaves, Samuel Blais and Barclay Goodrow, among others.
“We had our scout meetings this weekend,” Hughes said. This is something that we discussed. Jeff Gorton spoke about his experiences in New York, that the Rangers lacked in their return to respectability, they didn’t have enough toughness in their squad to protect the youngsters. »
Experience next summer?
Saturday’s incident was one where toughness and leadership intertwined. On the other hand, to hear Hughes speak, it is much more leadership than his team needs.
A clue in this direction: his answer to one of our questions which consisted in knowing if he would try to obtain another center in order to support Nick Suzuki, who is having an up and down season, now that Phillip Danault is not there. is more.
“Ideally, yes. But we’re also going to need… We have young players, like Suzuki, even though he was part of the team last year, even though he has a letter on his jersey [il fait partie des assistants].
“Mark Recchi, even though he was at the end of his career, he really had an effect on Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand in Boston. Same for Dave Andreychuk. When he was in Tampa, he was really at the end of his career. But his leadership, his experience, the lessons he passed on to Brad Richards, to Vincent Lecavalier, even a little to Martin St-Louis, that helped them a lot and they progressed. »
It will be interesting to see if Hughes will go after Bergeron. Hughes was Bergeron’s agent for 20 years, and the Bruins center, whose leadership is unmistakable, is still without a contract for next season. He is also, not insignificantly, Suzuki’s youth idol.
Willing to trade Petry
Although he is also part of the assistant group, Petry will obviously not be part of the solution to this leadership problem.
The defender has not formally requested a trade, assures Hughes. But the new general manager is willing to trade him “if it works out on both sides”.
We recall the context. Petry is having, by far, his worst season since arriving in Montreal in the winter of 2015. He has only 5 points in 36 games and shows a differential of -8. Off the ice, he is also going through difficult times, since his spouse returned to the United States with their three children, during the holidays, on the pretext that the sanitary measures in place in Quebec are too heavy.
Knowing this, Hughes and Gorton met Petry on the last trip, “to Colorado or Minnesota,” Hughes recounted.
“We told him: ‘We are aware of what is happening in your life. This is not the ideal context to play. At the same time, you are part of this team. If there’s a chance it will work out on both sides to trade you, we’ll trade you. But until this situation arises, you are part of the Canadiens and you have to do your best. »
We may be playing on words, but Hughes still assures that number 26 did not ask to be traded. “But it’s not an ideal context and right now we don’t see any change coming with COVID. It will be a difficult relationship for [Petry et sa conjointe].
Besides, Jeff is not the youngest player in the world. If it comes up, that we can improve the future of our team and improve the circumstances for Jeff, we will do it. Otherwise, Jeff is part of the Canadian.
Kent Hughes, general manager of the Canadiens
That said, Hughes may well want to do his player a favor by trading him to an American team, the contract is a major obstacle. Petry is currently in the first year of a four-year contract, which counts for $6.25 million under the salary cap. With a ceiling that will remain fixed or only increase slightly, several teams are too stuck to accept such a contract.
Hughes, however, wanted to put into perspective the difficult situations that some players may experience.
“I was talking about it with Jeff [Gorton] today. I am aware that it is not easy for the players and the coaches. But at the same time, they are professional hockey players. There are people in life who have circumstances that are a lot more difficult than what we have here in Montreal. Sometimes it’s a matter of context. »