Wilson vows to improve HABs’ public relations
NEw viCE-prEsiDEnt of CommuniCAtions AnD puBliC AffAirs hAs history with CAnADiEns
Paul Wilson has had an up-close look at what life is like for a Canadiens player.
After Petr Svoboda was selected with the No. 5 overall pick at the 1984 NHL Draft, the Canadiens had to find somewhere for the Czech defenceman — who spoke no English or French — to live. Wilson’s father was a friend of Ronald Corey, the club’s president at the time, and said Svoboda could stay at his family’s home in Outremont.
After the Canadiens made the playoffs during the 1985-86 season, the Wilson family opened their home for two more players to join Svoboda. Chris Chelios and Tom Kurvers had been renting an apartment on Nuns’ Island, but the lease ran out at the end of April. So they moved in with the Wilsons and stayed right through the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup championship.
“That was my first contact with Habs players,” Wilson recalled. “We had the Cup in our salon. It was a fun time.
“Chelios, I remember he came back about three days after (the Cup win),” Wilson added with a laugh. “We hadn’t seen him for three days and he walked in with the same clothes.”
Wilson will be having much more contact with Canadiens players in his new role as senior vice-president for public affairs and communications with Groupe CH Club. The 52-yearold will oversee all aspects of public affairs and communications for the company, reporting directly to president and CEO Geoff Molson.
Wilson is now a partner with National Public Relations, where he heads the corporate communications group, and has also worked as VP of communications and public affairs for the Labatt Brewing Company and with the Formula One Grand Prix of Canada.
Wilson officially starts his new job on Aug. 6 and his main priority will be to improve the Canadiens’ public relations with fans and the media.
When Molson and GM Marc Bergevin met with the media after the Canadiens failed to make the playoffs this season and finished 28th in the NHL standings, “transparency” was a word they used a lot, promising to be more open with fans and the media.
During a one-on-one interview Thursday afternoon at his office in the downtown Sun Life Building, Wilson was asked to define what “transparency” means for the Canadiens.
“It’s about explaining what you can say and explaining why you can’t say things,” he said.
“Basically, the secret of success is to explain what you can say, for instance give news and announce things. But you also need to explain why you can’t say things, why you can’t explain a situation. I think the big issue over the last couple of years was that people sometimes were wondering if the Habs were hiding things, not saying everything.”
One of the first signs of the new “transparency” came Tuesday when it was announced goalie Antti Niemi had signed a oneyear contract and the Canadiens news release included his salary (US$950,000), something that wasn’t done in the past.
Wilson noted there will still be things the Canadiens and Bergevin can’t reveal because they are in a competitive business with 30 other teams, comparing it to how CEOs for Lowe’s Canada and Bombardier — two companies Wilson has had as clients — can’t reveal everything they do to the competition.
“The biggest strength of the Habs, or the biggest asset of the company, is yes the hockey team and yes the fans, but the passion that the fans have for that business,” Wilson said. “I’ve never seen it anywhere else. You need to feed that passion and you need to manage that passion.
“So transparency, yes, it’s a big word. But we’ll need to manage also les attentes (expectations) and I think that’s another challenge so that people know as much as possible what to expect over the next period of time. It’s not a normal business.”
No, it’s not — and transparency won’t win hockey games.
But Molson definitely noticed the empty seats at the Bell Centre this season and realized things need to change on and off the ice.
“Even though it was a tough year, the great news is that there is a passion,” Wilson said. “The passion is still there … it’s like a pendulum.
“The bad news would be if there was no passion at all … if people didn’t care. People care so much and there’s been so much heat in the press and on social media that I see it as good news. Now, how do we fix that? Marc is really aware of that and Geoff also … I think you’ve got to start by fixing that on the ice and these guys are full blast working on that and I’m sure they’re going to do a great job at it.
“I think the future is bright for the Habs,” Wilson added. “It’s such a strong brand, but you got to respect that passion.
“The good news is everybody understands that it has to be respected.”
People care so much and there’s been so much heat in the press and on social media that I see it as good news. Now, how do we fix that?