In the Canadian world, a year sometimes feels like a decade. A year ago, in a context of high tension, Marc Bergevin and Geoff Molson attended the traditional team photo.

On October 19, 2021, colleague Marc De Foy’s article was titled “it’s going to be a circus”.

See Martin St-Louis’ full press conference above.

We have to step back in time. CH has had a difficult start to the season as the first three games were without a win. There is discontent not only on the ice, but also on the seventh floor.

Bergevin did not sign a contract extension with the team despite his appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. And Molson, the owner, rarely speaks in public.

In his article last year, De Foy wrote that Bergevin was there for the photo, but only in body. The GM had not interacted with its owner and players.

We know the rest. The Habs ice hockey men saw a huge upswing last year. Scott Mellanby, Bergevin, Trevor Timmins and Dominique Ducharme all lost their jobs. CH had the worst season in its history, finishing 32nd and last in the standings with 55 points (and a record of 22-49-11).

A different context

We now come back to the present. A day after the 6-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes, the CH held their first of two annual team photos on Friday.

And there was no tension in the air. Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle showed off their beautiful teeth, David Savard and Josh Anderson had fun teasing their slightly smaller neighbor in Cole Caufield, and Nick Suzuki took center stage in his role as captain.

Kent Hughes, on a recruiting mission, wasn’t there. But a place for the general manager in the photo is found through the magic of technology. There was no scandal related to his absence. France Margaret Bélanger, the President of Sports and Entertainment, also made history by becoming the first woman to receive a seat for the official team photo as a member of the Hockey Executive Committee.

Good start

After five games, the Habs have a record of three wins and two losses. Martin St-Louis found the right recipe to fire up his players after a camp where the team hadn’t won in eight games (0-6-2).

“Hmm, I don’t know if I could have expected a start like that,” said St-Louis. But I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. At camp we were zero out of eight but I liked the way we played. For me it was reassuring. We very rarely played a game with a better formation than the other team during camp. There were several young people in our formation and we wanted to do new things. We didn’t just focus on results. I liked the team’s progress, not only individually but also collectively.

If he’s happy with the start of the season for his young team, St-Louis also reminded that the adrenaline will eventually wear off and we’ll soon return to some form of normalcy in a long 82-game schedule.

When asked if he could sustain that intensity over a long period of time, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s past glory provided a cinematic reference.

“Sometimes the coach isn’t responsible for motivating the boys on a daily basis,” he recalled. He won’t come out with a “Rocky 4” speech before every game. That will not do. Yes, sometimes the coach has to inspire his players. But we also have to make decisions as a group. There are sometimes events during a game that unite players. We’re talking about things that happen organically. If you try to inspire your players before every game, you’ll end up losing your impact.