Pandemic hits close to home for Canadiens owner Molson
MONTREAL, Que. — There has been no hockey revenue since March. The coronavirus pandemic also meant a large portion of the 1,500 concerts, festivals and events his company would have staged were cancelled or rescheduled.
But at least people are still drinking Geoff Molson’s beer, albeit at home, because bars have been closed again for more than a month.
“The beer business is hanging in there. The nice thing about it is it can’t be taken over by technology. It’s a stable business and it’ll always be there,” Molson, the owner and president of Groupe CH, the multi-faceted sports and entertainment company best known for its controlling interest in the Montreal Canadiens, told Postmedia during a lengthy interview Monday at the Bell Centre.
It has been an interesting eight months for Molson, who bought the Canadiens in 2009, and his company as the health crisis forced his company into some restructuring and plenty of layoffs.
And it afforded his family — Molson is the father of four between the ages of 14 and 20 — quality time at home, including meals together, because he didn’t set foot in his downtown office for three months. It also allowed the 50-year-old the time and tranquility to contemplate life, since it’s not uncommon for him to walk to work these days, a two-hour round-trip, when he ventures to the rink.
COVID-19 struck close to home recently, when Molson’s 15-year-old son, Tom, came into contact with a classmate who caught the virus. But the teenager tested negative and the family remains symptom-free.
“I don’t think it’s healthy to live in fear,” Molson said. “It is healthy to be safe.”
Just as Molson handled the potential health scare in stride, he’s forging ahead on the NHL’s plan for the coming season. The everoptimistic owner has higher expectations for the Canadiens after the team qualified for the expanded playoff structure last summer and upset Pittsburgh in the playin round before losing in six games to Philadelphia.
“We’ve built a pretty good organization, a pretty good team that can be good for a long time,” Molson believes. “This is a team that, I believe, can make the playoffs. Once it does, I believe it can do really well.”
General manager Marc Bergevin has been busy since the season ended, trading for goaltender Jake Allen, defenceman Joel Edmundson and forward Josh Anderson, before adding Tyler Toffoli as a free agent. Bergevin also extended Jeff Petry and Brendan Gallagher.
An organization that for years operated well under the salary cap suddenly committed more than US$79 million to the four newcomers at a time when no revenue’s being generated.
“The timing was right to spend on players to make the team really good,” Molson explained. “It wasn’t right the last two years. We were building, drafting and forming a team we believed was going to be good. It showed us this summer it has the capability.”
Molson denied Bergevin was under orders not to spend to the cap. Instead, he was advised to spend Molson’s money responsibly and wisely to build a competitive team.
“Spending to the cap for the sake of it doesn’t do any good,” Molson said. “Do it when you’re ready to do some damage as a team. It has nothing to do with the fact we’re not making any revenue. It never has been about saving money. It’s about being smart.
“When you have the team you believe can do well, the chances of your spending to the cap are a lot higher. We were lucky we had that space to sign players.”
Although the Canadiens’ record has been spotty since Bergevin was hired in 2012 — an eight-year tenure can be a lifetime in pro sports for a GM — Molson has emphatically defended him and said he will continue to do so.
Montreal reached the playoffs in Bergevin’s first three seasons, including its 2014 defeat to the New York Rangers in the conference final when Carey Price was injured. But then the team failed to qualify three of the last four seasons, forcing the organization into a “slight reset.” And it would have been three successive seasons had the NHL not expanded the number of participants at its Toronto and Edmonton bubbles.
But Molson said Bergevin is well respected around the league by other GMs and has a good reputation. His original contract was extended in 2015 and expires following the 2021-22 season.
“I’ll defend (Bergevin) for sure,” Molson said. “He’s a really good GM. There are so many reasons to not push the panic button and stick with a guy who really knows what he’s doing. I know he’s a good GM.
“If you believe this is a team that’s going to be really good, that doesn’t make him a bad GM if he set his sights on doing something three-anda-half or even four years ago and is finally accomplishing it. Teams that are currently good, four or five years ago weren’t so good. It’s a process.”
Molson and the Canadiens are preparing for a season, one he still believes can start around the beginning of January, give or take a few weeks. With the U.S. border closed, Molson believes the Canadiens will play in an all-Canadian division — one he hopes will permit home games at the Bell Centre before, eventually, 4,000 fans while observing social distancing protocol.
While that will make it impossible for the team to come close to generating a profit, Molson said he has no desire to simply not play, undoubtedly cognizant of the importance the franchise holds in the city and province, along with the diversion it would provide.
“The timing was right to spend on players to make the team really good.”
Geoff Molson Owner, Canadiens