Make no mistake, the Montreal Canadiens are not led by a boy club. The triumvirate composed of Jeff Gorton, vice-president of hockey operations, Kent Hughes, general manager, and Martin St-Louis, head coach, often persists. And it’s very healthy.
In fact, Hughes is so opinionated and stubborn that his sidekick Gorton gave him a more or less affectionate nickname.
“Jeff Gorton says my middle nameit’s “no agreement”, confided the CEO during a long interview with Jean-Charles Lajoie. It doesn’t bother me! A good work environment encourages different opinions.”
Obviously, the incessant internal debates can cause some friction. But the frustration that these generate is the price to pay in order not to sink into the hell of single thinking.
“It’s frustrating at times,” he admitted. I imagine the coaches find me as frustrating as my wife. And Jeff too.
“If someone says something to me, I’m going to stand by my argument. But I’m still going to come home and think about it.”
St-Louis, ultimate hardhead
Speaking of tough heads, St. Louis has a pretty good one, to the surprise of absolutely no one. You have to be stubborn to know such a career against all odds, from the height of 5 ft 8 in.
The legendary former forward probably experienced the most difficult period of his hockey career during the Canadiens’ difficult start to the season.
“When he was criticized as a player, it was because he was criticized for being too small, but he was successful and he silenced his detractors,” Hughes explained. For the first time, he was criticized and success was not there.
“I could tell he was getting angry and frustrated. But he didn’t hide from everyone. He’s the fighter he is.”
When things were pretty bad, Hughes and Gorton had to play devil’s advocate on a few occasions.
“Martin is a tough head,” Hughes said. But he’s going to go home and he’s going to think about things. He is reflective [introspectif]. Hard-headed, yes. I’m a hardhead too. But it’s a quality.”
It really took a tough head to maintain a man-to-man coverage system in place in the defensive zone at the start of the season when the bleeding seemed impossible to stop. The team’s recent successes ultimately proved St. Louis right.
Related News :