It was summer time. The Montreal Canadiens were taking everyone by surprise by winning games… in the playoffs. They shocked Canada by coming back from a 3-1 games deficit to eliminate the hated Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. They came out as the Canadian division champs with fans chanting “Oui The North“. They then shocked the hockey world by defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, a Cup contender, to move on to the Stanley Cup finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning and many feel like if the Bolts were under the salary cap, the team’s 25th Stanley Cup banner would be hanging in the rafters of the Bell Centre.
Move over 3-4 months ahead, after a drama-filled off-season, and the team is going nowhere. Little did team President Geoff Molson know that he would have to go through yet another rocky season but here it is. With his team having played over 20 percent of their season already, the Canadiens have lost their Mojo. They have yet to win two consecutive games and their injury list is starting to look as long as a kid’s wish list to Santa Claus. At the time of writing this, the Habs sit seventh in the division, a single point ahead of the Ottawa Senators who have two games in hand on Montreal. In the league, only the pathetic Arizona Coyotes have a worse points percentage than the Canadiens.
The coach speaks to the media every day. Even with rumours circulating about his uncertain future and the name of Patrick Roy everywhere around Montreal, team General Manager Marc Bergevin has spoken to them a few times. That even includes an unscheduled visit to the podium a little while ago. But all this time, there is no sign of team President Molson. Some will say that his silence speaks volume, whatever meaning one wants to give it. Either way, it’s not good. It’s not good PR, it’s not good to appease speculations to kill rumours, it’s not good for the team in general. The instability is omnipresent at every level and it’s affecting everyone, from the players, the coaching staff and the GM.
Now is the time
Why is Marc Bergevin left like a lame duck with no contract for next year? What’s the real reason behind it? Why is this team left to die little by little, after such a positive playoffs’ run? What’s the plan for the immediate and mid-future for the Montreal Canadiens? Fans and media want to know. In fact, they need to know.
While some people feel entitled to knowing the medical record of the players on the team – which is wrong by the way – there is one thing that is truly owed to them: being informed on which direction is the team taking. And that can only come from Mr. Molson himself. The team’s top hockey man (Bergevin) himself doesn’t seem to know what the future holds. “In a perfect world, I’ll be back next season“, he said a while ago. What does that mean? What’s a “perfect world”?
So with all due respect Mr. Molson, it’s time to come out of the shadows of the Bell Centre and give not only the team’s fans, but the sponsors, the players, the coaches and your GM a clear answer about the immediate future of the Montreal Canadiens. It’s time to kill the senseless speculations and rumours. The time has come, the time is now.
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