Serge Savard was merciless.
The former general manager of the Montreal Canadiens did not hesitate to express his dissatisfaction with the decisions made by the Kent Hughes-Martin St-Louis duo, going so far as to compare them to the inexperience of Réjean Houle and Mario Tremblay during of their appointment in 1995.
Savard seems to see a truly sad irony in this situation, seeing the hiring of Kent Hughes, a former agent with no management experience, and Martin St-Louis, a rookie coach, as an echo of the past.
For Savard, this approach is a mirror of the catastrophe which marked the mandate of Houle and Tremblay, whose lack of preparation had quickly plunged the CH into years of decline.
“It seems like we didn’t work hard to find someone among the former Canadians to take over”he declared, visibly exasperated.
He also criticized the lack of effort to recruit veterans of the organization, regretting that we did not give a chance to candidates with a strong Montreal identity like Guy Carbonneau or Benoît Brunet.
The addition of Vincent Lecavalier as special advisor — a close friend from St. Louis but without experience in the NHL offices — only intensified Savard’s suspicions.
This decision recalls the way in which Ronald Corey had promoted Houle and Tremblay, banking more on bonds of friendship and loyalty than on solid professional qualifications.
Savard did not hesitate to compare the attitude of the current management team to that of Marc Bergevin, who also tended to surround himself with close friends who all had the same vision as him.
At this point, Savard comes to ask himself the question that many fans also ask:
“Can we really hope for a revival with this inexperienced duo? »
For him, the Canadian’s recent performances are an alarming sign.
With his usual frankness, Serge Savard stressed that this management lacks the audacity and experience necessary to lead the Canadian.
According to him, the current structure can only lead the CH to results similar to those of the Houle-Tremblay years: years of hardship marked by questionable decisions and repeated failures.
it must be said that Réjean Houle…replaced Savard…
Today, with Hughes, a former agent, and St-Louis, a beginner coach, he fears that the “pro-player” approach will make the team lose all its fighting spirit.
CH is ranked 29th and has a goal differential of -18, the worst statistics in the league.
“It seems like the whole team lacks emotion,” he said bluntly, confiding to Renaud Lavoie that he was even surprised to see the team win against the Sabers today.
For Savard, the current management seems obsessed with friendships and affinities, rather than proven skills.
By hiring Vincent Lecavalier, a long-time friend from St-Louis, and first client of Kent Hughes, the CH strengthens its “boys club” image.
Savard would have preferred to see names like Guy Carbonneau or Patrick Roy join the management, veterans who know Montreal culture and have already carried the torch.
Naming Benoît Brunet was too much. But we understand Savard’s point.
For him, “there are so many good guys as former Canadiens players, and we seem to not even look at them.”
The frustration is palpable: Lecavalier’s appointment is another blow which, for him, goes against the historic values of the club.
The current choices, for Savard, portend a very bleak future for the CH. In a context of reconstruction, he finds it worrying to see no real recovery plan.
The legacy left by Houle and Tremblay seems to be reborn today in the form of Hughes and St-Louis.
“Can we go lower than 32nd? »he quips.
For him, as long as choices are guided by friendships and affinities to the detriment of skills, the Canadian risks remaining in the bottom of the rankings for a long time.
Ouch.
