Only in Montreal do you find the principal owner of a sports franchise outdoors in a snowstorm answering questions about his team's star-crossed season.
Geoff Molson is from here. He knew what he was getting into when he bought the Canadiens.
And this is how we do Winter Classics in these parts.
As snowflakes fell on Hayward Park in LaSalle on Tuesday afternoon, Molson faced a scrum of television cameras and hockey reporters wielding microphones and soggy notebooks. The scion of a great Montreal family was wearing a Canadiens tuque, a Canada Goose jacket and the knowing smile of a man who fully expected to find himself on a hot seat in a cold place.
Molson and the attendant media mob were ostensibly at Hayward Park for the opening of a snazzy new outdoor hockey rink. The LaSalle facility is the fourth built by the Children's Foundation's Bleu Blanc Rouge, a program to encourage physical activity in the city's less advantaged neighbourhoods.
Before 50 local kids took to the new ice with David Desharnais and Raphael Diaz of the Canadiens, there were speeches by Molson, LaSalle borough mayor Manon Barbe and Daniel Boyer, secretary general of the Fédération des travailleurs du Québec (the trade union group is a sponsor of the outdoor rink program). Then Molson posed for a few photos before conducting his news conference.
The first questions weren't about the joys of outdoor hockey. And Molson didn't expect to do much skating.
"It's the first time I've been in front of the media since the decision to replace Jacques Martin," Molson said. "So no,canada goose parka I didn't think this would be a day off from hockey questions."
The owner acknowledged what every sentient Montreal hockey fan has known for a while: "This has been a disappointing season so far."
But Molson reaffirmed his support of interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth and general manager Pierre Gauthier. He said a thorough evaluation of team management will come at the end of the season.
"We're trying to stay focused on having a winning team," Molson said. "We're trying to turn things around."
Molson characterized the Canadiens' season to date as "soft, underperforming."
"If the second half is anything like the first half," he said, "it will be a disappointment for everybody."
He would not venture a prediction on his team's chances of making the playoffs.
"We have a half-season to play," Molson said. "We're still hoping to make it. You have to continue to believe you can make the playoffs . until you can't."
Molson said he had "learned a lot" from the firestorm that erupted after Martin was sacked and replaced by Cunneyworth, a unilingual anglophone. Molson underscored the point he made in an official statement issued two days after the Cunneyworth appointment.
"As a family that's been part of this community for 225 years, we certainly understand Quebec culture," Molson said. "There is no question that we support French and English. There is no question that we respect our fans and the culture of Quebec."
Molson said Gauthier has his support in the decisions the general manager has made this season, including the dismissal of Martin, the appointment of Cunneyworth and the trade that sent Michael Cammalleri to Calgary.
The owner said he does not attempt to micromanage the team's hockey decisions.
Molson would not venture a prediction on whether the Canadiens would be buyers or sellers at the February trade deadline.
"You have to hope for the best," he said. "As long as you don't give up too much of your long-term potential and you focus on the balance between getting there now and building for the future, then hopefully it'll pay off."
A year ago, Bleu Blanc Rouge opened a rink at Willibrord Park in Verdun.
Facilities had previously been built in the Villeray-Saint Michel-Park Extension and Montreal North boroughs. A fifth rink - state of the outdoor art, with 200-by-85-foot dimensions matching the Bell Centre - will open next year at Confederation Park in N.D.G.
LaSalle is a multi-ethnic neighbourhood with a substantial Italian-Canadian population. A demographic profile would also include La-Sallois of Scottish, Irish, East Indian, Chinese and Caribbean ancestry.
Former Canadiens from LaSalle include Réjean Houle (who took a spin with the kids on the new rink), Dollard St. Laurent and Jacques Lemaire.
I used to think of LaSalle as a working-and middle-class neighbourhood where everyone was making ends meet. Father John Walsh disabused me of that notion.
When I visited St. John Brébeuf Church to do a story on the Hope food bank a couple of years ago, Walsh said more than 30 per cent of LaSalle's 73,000 residents live below the poverty line. The borough has almost 4,000 single parent households, most led by women, living on less than $28,000 a year.
"Poverty is a problem that spurs other problems that become major problems," Walsh told me. "Families break up. Kids don't have money, and one of the problems in LaSalle is teenage gambling.
"I go over to the brasserie once in a while, and it's morning, people are having breakfast and they're already on the video slot machines. The teenagers borrow $10 and they're $20 down, then $30 down."
There are no such temptations at Hayward Park. Hockey will not solve all of society's problems, but a modern facility for healthy outdoor activities is a start.
Geoff Molson is from here. He knew what he was getting into when he bought the Canadiens.
And this is how we do Winter Classics in these parts.
As snowflakes fell on Hayward Park in LaSalle on Tuesday afternoon, Molson faced a scrum of television cameras and hockey reporters wielding microphones and soggy notebooks. The scion of a great Montreal family was wearing a Canadiens tuque, a Canada Goose jacket and the knowing smile of a man who fully expected to find himself on a hot seat in a cold place.
Molson and the attendant media mob were ostensibly at Hayward Park for the opening of a snazzy new outdoor hockey rink. The LaSalle facility is the fourth built by the Children's Foundation's Bleu Blanc Rouge, a program to encourage physical activity in the city's less advantaged neighbourhoods.
Before 50 local kids took to the new ice with David Desharnais and Raphael Diaz of the Canadiens, there were speeches by Molson, LaSalle borough mayor Manon Barbe and Daniel Boyer, secretary general of the Fédération des travailleurs du Québec (the trade union group is a sponsor of the outdoor rink program). Then Molson posed for a few photos before conducting his news conference.
The first questions weren't about the joys of outdoor hockey. And Molson didn't expect to do much skating.
"It's the first time I've been in front of the media since the decision to replace Jacques Martin," Molson said. "So no,canada goose parka I didn't think this would be a day off from hockey questions."
The owner acknowledged what every sentient Montreal hockey fan has known for a while: "This has been a disappointing season so far."
But Molson reaffirmed his support of interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth and general manager Pierre Gauthier. He said a thorough evaluation of team management will come at the end of the season.
"We're trying to stay focused on having a winning team," Molson said. "We're trying to turn things around."
Molson characterized the Canadiens' season to date as "soft, underperforming."
"If the second half is anything like the first half," he said, "it will be a disappointment for everybody."
He would not venture a prediction on his team's chances of making the playoffs.
"We have a half-season to play," Molson said. "We're still hoping to make it. You have to continue to believe you can make the playoffs . until you can't."
Molson said he had "learned a lot" from the firestorm that erupted after Martin was sacked and replaced by Cunneyworth, a unilingual anglophone. Molson underscored the point he made in an official statement issued two days after the Cunneyworth appointment.
"As a family that's been part of this community for 225 years, we certainly understand Quebec culture," Molson said. "There is no question that we support French and English. There is no question that we respect our fans and the culture of Quebec."
Molson said Gauthier has his support in the decisions the general manager has made this season, including the dismissal of Martin, the appointment of Cunneyworth and the trade that sent Michael Cammalleri to Calgary.
The owner said he does not attempt to micromanage the team's hockey decisions.
Molson would not venture a prediction on whether the Canadiens would be buyers or sellers at the February trade deadline.
"You have to hope for the best," he said. "As long as you don't give up too much of your long-term potential and you focus on the balance between getting there now and building for the future, then hopefully it'll pay off."
A year ago, Bleu Blanc Rouge opened a rink at Willibrord Park in Verdun.
Facilities had previously been built in the Villeray-Saint Michel-Park Extension and Montreal North boroughs. A fifth rink - state of the outdoor art, with 200-by-85-foot dimensions matching the Bell Centre - will open next year at Confederation Park in N.D.G.
LaSalle is a multi-ethnic neighbourhood with a substantial Italian-Canadian population. A demographic profile would also include La-Sallois of Scottish, Irish, East Indian, Chinese and Caribbean ancestry.
Former Canadiens from LaSalle include Réjean Houle (who took a spin with the kids on the new rink), Dollard St. Laurent and Jacques Lemaire.
I used to think of LaSalle as a working-and middle-class neighbourhood where everyone was making ends meet. Father John Walsh disabused me of that notion.
When I visited St. John Brébeuf Church to do a story on the Hope food bank a couple of years ago, Walsh said more than 30 per cent of LaSalle's 73,000 residents live below the poverty line. The borough has almost 4,000 single parent households, most led by women, living on less than $28,000 a year.
"Poverty is a problem that spurs other problems that become major problems," Walsh told me. "Families break up. Kids don't have money, and one of the problems in LaSalle is teenage gambling.
"I go over to the brasserie once in a while, and it's morning, people are having breakfast and they're already on the video slot machines. The teenagers borrow $10 and they're $20 down, then $30 down."
There are no such temptations at Hayward Park. Hockey will not solve all of society's problems, but a modern facility for healthy outdoor activities is a start.
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