Owner Geoff Molson was at the opening of the Montreal Canadiens new AHL affiliate’s arena, but also gave his thoughts on the roster moves this off-season.
First off I’d like to personally congratulate fans of the Montreal Canadiens franchise. We made it. We survived the long summer days, and now we’re in September. Meaning Habs fans are just that much closer to watching the team suit up for camp and the eventual start to the season.
It’s not just the Canadiens that fans should be excited for. Many have also been looking forward to the debut season of the Laval Rocket, the team’s new AHL affiliate. The uniforms were released earlier, but now they have a new arena to match them.
Canadiens owner Geoff Molson was at Place Bell to officially open the building to the public on Thursday. The building will hold around 10,000 fans, but is fit with the latest technology to give them the greatest in-game experience every night. It’s starting to look like the appeal is there in the community. According to Molson, they have sold about 3000 season tickets.
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Confidence in the Canadiens
As much as this day was about Laval, one does not simply speak of them without mentioning the Montreal Canadiens. Molson was asked about the moves the team made over the off-season and whether he was satisfied or not to which he replied:
"Ya I’m satisfied. I think Marc did a nice job with some of his transactions and his signings."
He also mentioned the departures of Andrei Markov and Alexander Radulov in how the team was grateful for their time in Montreal. Obviously the emotions were more around Markov who had played for the Montreal Canadiens for 16 seasons.
That’s good for Marc Bergevin that Molson is confident in him. There’s a lot of negativity towards the Habs GM and perhaps he could be on the hot seat. Not only for the roster moves, but because it’s been difficult to sustain a long playoff run. The farthest Montreal got was the Eastern Conference Final back in 2014.
Related Story: Marc Bergevin on the Hot Seat
Other Meaning?
Now this is the part where we look too much into a quote. Mr. Molson did say “some” of his transactions and his signings. This may not even be worth mentioning, there’s no way an owner would hint at a displeasure for some of his GM’s moves right?
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Save for the Jonathan Drouin trade and the Jakub Jerabek signing, Bergevin’s moves have been polarizing around the fanbase. In particular Karl Alzner‘s contract and Mark Streit. There’s also the lack of moves that many have voiced their displeasure towards (*cough* cap space *cough*).
However, the only opinion that should matter to Bergevin is Molson’s. From his words at the opening, there doesn’t seem to be a problem and he’s confident in his decision-making. He also mentioned that Bergevin is free to do what he wants but wont spend to spend which is definitely a nod at their cap flexibility.
Molson trusts his GM to do whatever it takes to improve the team. Perhaps the fans who are still skeptical should do the same.
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What do you make of Molson’s comments? Are you confident in Bergevin? Let us know your thoughts down below.