Gauthier’s firing caps a season to forget
Canadiens principal owner Geoff Molson wore a powder blue necktie Thursday, featuring a whimsical design of many small fish.
You could say that was appropriate, given how the Canadiens have been floundering against the tide of success all season.
An optimist, on the other hand, might have said that every fish on the silk at least was swimming in the same direction.
But no matter how you viewed this remarkable day, it was fitting that Molson met the media in a sardine-can hall at the Canadiens’ Brossard training complex to announce sweeping changes to the team’s hockey operations department:
Relieved of his duties was general manager Pierre Gauthier; leaving by mutual agreement was Gauthier’s special adviser, Bob Gainey; incoming as a consultant to Molson for the headhunting was Serge Savard, the club’s GM f rom 1983-95; moving from the bench to the front office was assistant GM Larry carrière; moving down from the press box was goal-tending coach Pierre Groulx, as an assistant to head coach Randy Cunneyworth.
For almost 17 minutes, Molson a little stiffly read prepared French then English remarks. But as the news conference wore on through its 45 minutes, his leaning casually into the lectern demonstrated a growing comfort, perhaps as much with the hard decision he was announcing as his elaboration about it.
Clearly, Molson hadn’t written these words over his morning toast and coffee. Indeed, he later told a small
“It’s inspired – turn the last 10 days of the season
into a small celebration of the promise ahead.”
group of columnists that Gauthier had been given the news “a couple of days” earlier.
“I think so, yes,” Molson replied when asked whether Gauthier knew before Tuesday’s Bell Centre game against Florida that he was gone.
So imagine what was running through Gauthier’s mind at that game when he walked along the press gallery with “Fire Gauthier!” chants raining down from the upper reaches of the arena.
At first blush, the timing of Thursday’s announcement was curious, to say the least – it seemed to be shovelling more dirt of speculation onto a mudpile of misery that’s grown deeper by the game.
But in fact, it’s inspired – turn the last 10 days of the season into a small celebration of the promise ahead rather than prolong the autopsy.
“Every day is important,” Molson said, “because the next season isn’t far away.”
The Gauthier sacking was Molson’s call, not that of an ownership consortium and certainly not that of the opinionated fans who are taking credit for it.
“It’s my decision. I have a board, it’s my responsibility to inform them, but my style is to make sure that I have support around me,” Molson said. “It’s not like I walk into the room and say, ‘Guys, here’s the deal, live with it.’ It’s much more, ‘What do you guys think?’ My decision might already have been made, but at least I’m getting some support. …
“It’s been a really tough year for Pierre. For everyone. Pierre … is disappointed. He worked so hard for this organization, tirelessly, but I think he understands, too. Pierre has been with us for nine years (first as Gainey’s assistant, then at the helm).
“The reality is, if you look in the mirror, we haven’t had enough success in the past nine years. Once in a while, these tough decisions have to be made.”
Molson said he gathered the Canadiens players in the dressing room before the news conference and gave them a Reader’s Digest version of his press briefing.
“The message was clear, and I could feel the passion in the room,” he said.
Behind the scenes, he’d have seen a little celebration, too, because Gauthier was an enigma – sometimes much worse – to Habs players.
This has been a bizarre season, and the performance on the ice is only part of it. Even a starving canine would turn his nose up at this dog’s breakfast:
There was the dismissal very shortly before a game of assistant coach Perry Pearn. Later, the Saturday game-day firing of head coach Jacques Martin and naming of Randy Cunneyworth as his interim replacement, the latter’s legs cut out from under him by his own front office virtually in the hours that followed. The Cunneyworth news conference and its fallout was a public-relations disaster.
There was the trade between periods of Michael Cammalleri to Calgary for Rene Bourque; the questionable deals of defencemen Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill, two veterans who were shabbily disrespected by not even being told for as long as an hour where they were destined.
Incoming for Spacek was long-term heavy cap hit Tomas Kaberle and, for Gill, Blake Geoffrion, whose warmed a press-box seat for the past six games and might never figure in this team’s plans.
Molson bristled, a bit, when these PR nightmares were catalogued. About the Cunneyworth announcement, he admitted, “There were moments that day we’d like to have back,” though he said he completely supported the firing of Martin and insertion of his replacement.
“This organization has values that run deep,” Molson said. “We have every intention of maintaining the highest standard with our organization. … Every effort we’ve made this year has been to try to improve the team’s performance.
“Unfortunately, sometimes timing doesn’t play in your favour. But it is extremely important in our organization to have respect for everyone, from training staff to the gen- eral manager.”
In many ways, that’s been sadly lacking.
Molson said he doubted that a GM would be in place by the NHL’S April 10 draft lottery, the Habs futility this season making them a key player in that exercise. But in an ideal world, he said, the new man would be installed in good time for the June 2223 entry draft and opening of free agency on July 1.
“The priority is to find the best person to meet our challenge of rebuilding a winning organization,” Molson said, adding that while he’d prefer a bilingual GM, he’s not closing any doors.
That man will be an effective communicator, which absolutely wasn’t one of Gauthier’s strengths.
“Communication is a mo- tivator for everyone – for the team, myself, the coach, the media and fans,” Molson said.
The owner sees himself as a delegator more than a micro manager, so the new GM will indeed run the show. But he won’t be expected to do it all himself.
“Look around not only the Nhl but pro sports teams and there’s always a person at the head who’s well surrounded,” Molson said. “You could have a GM with an excellent capologist, or an excellent negotiator, or a lawyer. I’m not sure exactly which direction we’re going, but there aren’t very many examples out there of one person who does it all.”
What the Canadiens must do, however they proceed, is win back the favour of the fans, now 19 years removed from the team’s most recent championship. The many empty seats at every Bell Centre game illustrate a discontent or apathy, though you’d get an argument on that from Molson, who calls the noshow phenomenon “greatly overexaggerated.”
“If there really were a lot of empty seats I would be troubled,” he said. “But we’ve had a really good year as far as participation goes, considering the team hasn’t performed very well.
“We’ve had an unbelievable turnout from our fans. … Maybe they leave a little early, maybe they arrive a little late, maybe they stay for an extra beer or hot dog between periods because they’re a little less engaged. But they’re there.”
Molson took Thursday’s team charter to New York, having nicely avoided the quicksand that’s become a feature of too many Canadiens news conferences.
The Habs owner generally sparkled on this day that, personally, was both difficult and emotional.
His work, of course, is just beginning. Very soon, we’ll see how these good words translate into action.