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News From The Habs Golf Tournament
September 20, 2016, 2:09 PM ET [5 Comments]
Jennifer B Cutler
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSS • Archive • CONTACT
The Montreal Canadiens held their annual golf tournament on Tuesday, benefitting the Canadiens Children’s Foundation. As General Manager Marc Bergevin is in Toronto with Team Canada at the World Cup of Hockey, President and Owner Geoff Molson spoke to the media first followed by Head Coach Michel Therrien.

Comments from Molson:













Comments from Therrien:













Hopefully, this will be the last time for at least awhile that the Canadiens are asked to comment on P.K. Subban/Shea Weber trade. After a full Summer, Habs fans have gone through the various emotional stages of dealing with the trade. From shock to grief, to acceptance and now excitement, it is time to move on. Fans will always be grateful of Subban’s accomplishments and contributions on and off the ice but it is time to get on with the 2016-2017 NHL season.

It came as no surprise that Molson and Therrien were asked to comment publicly on the hearsay regarding Therrien’s supposed claim that Pacioretty was the worst Canadiens captain ever. Likewise, it was no surprise that both denied that those words were ever spoken and that Pacioretty has the full support of the team, from ownership to management, coaches to the players. Pacioretty is their guy and they are standing firmly behind him.

Therrien later went on Tony Marinaro’s TSN 690 radio show for an in depth interview and it is worth the listen if you were not able to catch it live:




The addition of Weber is expected to help Pacioretty out in the locker room and interestingly, Therrien compared it to how the addition of Kirk Muller behind the bench will help him. It was a very honest answer from Therrien. That he and Bergevin recognized that help was needed in terms of leadership on and off the ice, in more ways than one. That demonstrates growth from Therrien. It was interesting to learn that it was he who initially reached out to Muller (on a two phone conversation while driving to Montreal from Florida no less). Muller is one of the reasons why I am most excited and optimistic for this upcoming season and I for one am looking forward to the positive effect he should have on the players, on the powerplay and with his co-workers.

Therrien also confirmed that Pacioretty-Galchenyuk-Gallagher are expected to be the Canadiens number one line to start the season. He noted that the players wanted to play with each other at the end of last season and with the results that they had, there is no reason to split them up to start the new campaign. While it appears that Andrew Shaw may have the inside track on the second line left wing spot next to Tomas Plekanec and fellow newcomer Alexander Radulov, that is not etched in stone. He also did not rule out the possibility of one day seeing Radulov play with Galchenyuk but will take things one game at a time and will go with the hot hand.

Regarding who will get the first opportunity to play alongside Weber on the top pairing, Therrien would not reveal his plans. Nathan Beaulieu admitted that he has not been told where he is playing in the lineup. However, he is ready to take on a bigger role on the team and I believe if he starts training camp strong, he might just get that first crack at it:










It was interesting to learn that management reached out to Beaulieu to reassure him about the trade rumours. Beaulieu is considered to be part of the core of the team and it would take a big offer for Bergevin to trade the rearguard. Comparably, I don’t think that Bergevin ever called Subban to reassure him when his name started popping up in the trade winds…

Everyone is excited for Radulov to hit the ice and expects that it will be an easy transition for him in Montreal.










Not to mention the excitement and relief as to how well Carey Price is playing at the World Cup:







After listening to the various interviews and comments, one gets a real sense of excitement from the players and an anxiousness to get the season started. They want to make the disappointments from last year disappear as quickly as possible and are very focused on getting back into the playoffs. Physicals are Thursday and the real camp opens on Friday.

Cheers & follow along!
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