The Canadian may have sold almost all his tickets this season, the patience of the fans will not be eternal. That’s why Geoff Molson has aligned his position with that of his general manager, Kent Hughes, who said in his end-of-season report that his expectations “are going to change”.
“I think he’s right,” said Molson, in a scrum on the sidelines of an announcement of a donation to the Carabins tennis program at the University of Montreal.
“The team that played the first half of the season, healthy, was much better than the second half, because of injuries and maybe something else. It’s a long season. The youngsters played very well in the first half and next year will be another year of experience. Even for them, expectations will be higher. »
The indices for measuring the patience of supporters are imperfect. There have been these boos heard here and there, the few evenings when the team was destroyed, or when the numerical advantage was unable to organize itself.
Otherwise, we can pick up the empty benches at the Bell Centre. The team officially announced sold-out crowds of 21,105 for 37 of its 41 home games last season, but in practice some subscribers were either not showing up or unable to resell their tickets.
On the subject of tickets, Molson did not subtly dodge a question asking him if he was going to review the principle of so-called “Premium” matches next year. This categorization served as a justification for the team to increase the price of tickets for certain matches.
“What I saw was an extraordinary crowd that supported the team in every game, launched the owner of the Canadian, in a burst of enthusiasm. I am very proud that our supporters have us [encouragés] during slow periods with injuries and we will do everything to come back healthy next year. »
The infirmary again
Molson’s balance sheet was positive overall, with the exception of the thorny question of injuries. It was not referred to once, but twice before the point was even explicitly mentioned in a question.
“Leaving injuries aside, the future is very bright,” he said in his first response. The other mention was in the first quotation reported at the beginning of the text.
Recall that for the second straight season, the Habs led the NHL in games missed by players due to injury. They missed some 600 games, so the team was without 7 players per game, on average.
“You’re never going to win with so many injuries,” Molson said. Jeff and Kent [Gorton et Hughes, et non pas l’ancien joueur de baseball] have said so. We have to look everywhere to see how we can be healthier as a team. It’s a job we’re going to do this summer. »
Far from the level of the series?
For a moment, we thought that Marc Bergevin had disguised himself as Geoff Molson. “The first thing that tells me is that any team can win,” dropped the owner of the Canadian, an idea that his former general manager often mentioned.
Molson was talking about the first round of the NHL playoffs here. In his eyes, “in three series, the team not [censée] to win has won”. In fact, strictly by season standings, the underdog team won two of the eight first-round series: Seattle (against Colorado) and Florida (against Boston).
“It shows fairness in the National League. Every game, any team can win. We see teams that have been developing for six, seven or eight years, trying to win and finally, they have succeeded. »
I hope that we, as a team, will learn and follow the path of winning teams.
Geoff Molson
Very clever whoever finds a single way to follow in the construction of the eight teams that triumphed in the first round. The Seattle Kraken and the Vegas Golden Knights are models that are difficult to apply elsewhere since they are from the expansion. The New Jersey Devils had to “restart” their rebuild after an unexpected playoff appearance in 2018 was ultimately a mirage.
After very long stretches of the desert, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers have been regular playoff runners for the past few years, while the Dallas Stars alternate between playoff exclusions and interesting course for 10 years. But their fabulous 2017 draft (Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson) could very well launch them until the end of the decade.
So, what model will the Canadian follow?
Hughes’ and Gorton’s decisions around the draft period and the free agent market will speak volumes. But when, after two years of reconstruction, “higher expectations” are already foreseen, it is probably the sign of an owner who does not intend to wait another five years.
Don’t get attached to blue sweaters…
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Canadiens have gone 1-6-1 in games played in retro blue jerseys this season.
The famous retro blue jerseys of the Canadian have been talked about all season. The team went 1-6-1 in games played in blue this season, suffering some of its worst thaws of the year. After the eighth and final game in blue, Martin St-Louis did not mince his words. “It’s a historic franchise… There’s probably guys who wore that jersey 50 years ago, in red and white, and they’re looking down on us like, ‘What the hell are you? made in blue?” Geoff Molson recalled that “it’s an initiative of the league [que l’équipe] supports,” but also acknowledged that if she returns, changes will be made. “It’s impossible to believe it’s because of the jerseys, but we lost a lot of games! he agreed. I don’t think we’ll see each other again [les chandails bleus] next year. […] If it comes back, we will change color, I think! »
Guillaume Lefrancois, The Press