National Post (National Edition)
Canadiens owner likes team’s direction
Drouin arrival, retooled defence, spur optimism
MONTREAL • After finishing with the best record in the Atlantic Division last season, the Montreal Canadiens underwent some significant changes during the off-season.
Three of the top-six defencemen are gone and so is winger Alex Radulov, while the newcomers include Jonathan Drouin, who is being counted on to provide a needed boost on offence.
It will take a while to properly assess the changes, but team president Geoff Molson said he’s satisfied with general manager Marc Bergevin’s off-season machinations.
“I think Marc did a nice job with his signings and some of his transactions,” Molson said Thursday as he participated in the unveiling of Place Bell in Laval. “Obviously, losing a player like (Andrei) Markov after playing his full career with the Montreal Canadiens, it’s disappointing to see because he really is a true Montreal Canadien at heart. But I think he made his decision and he’s moving on and we’re going to overcome that loss. But we’re grateful for everything he gave to us.”
Markov is heading back to Russia where he will play for Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL and, most likely, anchor the Russian defence at the 2018 Olympics. Radulov signed a five-year deal with the Dallas Stars.
“Radulov was a great Montreal Canadien for one year, but he’s moved on,” added Molson. “Now we’ve brought in Jonathan Drouin, a local, young superstar — very young — as well and I can’t wait to see him get on the ice and show us what he can give us.”
Bergevin still has $8.5 million of Molson’s money to make improvements and, when the owner was asked about the plans for that money, he replied: "You’ll have to ask Marc about that.”
Place Bell will serve as the home for the Laval Rocket, the Canadiens’ American Hockey League farm club, as well as providing Evenko, the team’s entertainment arm, a venue for acts that are too big for MTelus (formerly the Metropolis) but not big enough for the Bell Centre.
“As a hockey fan, I think it’s going to be incredible for the people of Laval to watch future Montreal Canadiens develop and perform in this market,” said Molson. “I think it will be inspiring for the younger generation. What typically happens is that they follow a certain player and watch them as they progress to the NHL.
“I think, as a company, as a businessman, we have a reputation for getting involved with the community and we already do that in Laval and we’ll continue to do that.”
While Molson said he didn’t know the exact number of season tickets sold, it’s believed the Rocket has a base of about 3,000, which puts them in the top tier of AHL teams.
“What happens in this league, you get a certain number of season ticket holders who are going to be your regulars, but there’s a lot of walk-up, families that have the night off and want to see a game.”
The main arena resembles a mini-Bell Centre with a large screen scoreboard and good sight lines from any of the 10,000 seats.
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE (DROUIN) GET ON THE ICE AND SHOW US.