Olivier Primeau, the well-known entrepreneur behind the Beach club and part of the podcast The Playbook with Jean-Charles Lajoie and Greg Lanctot, saw his reputation collapse online after his controversial comments on the acquisition of Patrik Laine by the Montreal Canadiens.
During a recent episode of the podcast, Primeau was simply merciless, even gratuitous, openly criticizing Laine for his first performance in the CH jersey, calling him “soft” and believing that he “takes the place of young people “.
These comments caused an outcry on social networks, where fans and hockey enthusiasts were quick to react virulently.
Far from supporting Primeau, the majority of comments ridicule him for his lack of understanding of hockey.
As one user points out:
“It’s lucky that you’re in the events business and not as CEO of the CH, because we would be even more in the cave than at the moment. »
Another adds:
“Primeau hey lala as they say, not the most thawed pizza when it comes to sports commentary. »
What most irritated Quebec hockey fans was Primeau’s excessive expectations of Laine, who, according to him, should have “scored four goals” and “eat the boards” in his first game, then that the Finn had not played since December 2023.
These unrealistic expectations were heavily criticized by fans, pointing out that Laine had only just returned to competition and needed time to find his rhythm.
“He didn’t do anything?” Is it very soft? The guy played his first 16 minutes since December last year, and he should have scored four goals already!? I’m happy that Kent Hughes is the GM and not one of the many stage managers we have in Quebec.”wrote a user, summarizing the general feeling of the community.
For many, Primeau, who is often harsh with Canadian players, seems to have a tendency to criticize for the pleasure of creating buzz.
Some recall that this is not the first time that he has attacked the team’s stars, having recently questioned the contracts of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
However, his criticism of Carey Price in 2021, where he claimed that Price had not made a big series that year, remains for many one of the lowest points of his interventions.
After all, Carey Price single-handedly took his team to the Stanley Cup final.
And now Olivier Primeau’s exit on Laine is perceived by many as an ill-informed comment, which only reinforced the idea that he should stick to his entrepreneurial activities rather than sports analysis.
The criticism continues to rain in, and it seems that Primeau will have to redouble his efforts to restore his image after this controversy.
