Geoff Molson had another interview with Rejean Tremblay for Journal De Montréal. Here are the things they spoke about:
- Molson is fully aware of the fans' frustrations and said they will change in depth the way they communicate with the fans. He said the will aim to be more transparent and improve the experience for those who attend games at the Bell Center. But it all starts by winning. He says that it's important that fans go into next season with hope.
- Like in La Presse, he spoke about hiring Paul Wilson (from National) as consultant to help communicate better. He said instead of giving people the least amount of information possible, we will give them the most without putting the players in a difficult position.
- He gives an example of the rumor that he met with Patrick Roy. He said that he never met with him.
- To further show how transparent they want to be, he goes back to the Tinordi trade. They got Bartley and Scott in return. He says that they should have been open about why Scott was included in the deal. He says it was because the Coyotes wanted to get rid of his contract. He says in such an instant, they should have said what the reason was so everyone can understand.
- He spoke about hiring a President of Hockey Ops to sit between the GM and owner. He said he's close to Marc and follows his work closely. He knows about every player Marc is negotiating with, every team he's having conversations with, and so on. He specifies that only 5 teams operate with a President of Hockey Ops and the rest of the GMs report directly to the owner. He also feels that his position can offer a different viewpoint on certain aspects of the operation.
- Tremblay asks that if Molson is so close to Marc, he must know "the plan." Molson said he does. He knows what personnel will be let go. But explains that it's next to impossible for the plan to be executed at 100% because they don't know which teams will let go of who among those still in the playoffs.
- He mentions the draft. The lottery will take place on the 28th and they will know where they will select. He says that a Rasmus Dahlin would definitely change the dynamic because they wouldn't need to find someone to play next to Weber.
- And then there's free agency. They will be very active. But at the end of the day, the decision lies with the player.
- It's already mentioned in this thread, but Molson says that trading PK was a decision they were looking into months in advance. Molson thought long and hard about moving such a superstar. And when Weber became available, the reflection to move Subban was already made. Which is why the actual trade was quick to be put together.
- It wouldn't be a Tremblay interview if he didn't ask about Francophones. Rejean notes that Molson was ready for this question and had the numbers ready for him. He says there are 37 Quebec-born players in the league, Habs have 4 of them (Danault, Drouin, Hudon, and Deslauriers). That's a little more than 10% of them.
- He also says that they do help a lot of the Francophones by investing $25M on all the rinks they built around Quebec to help get those kids into hockey. He talks about Genevieve Paquette, along with working with the Habs Foundation, works closely with Hockey Quebec. He admits they can do more. But also explains that they will miss out on some at the draft or as free agents. But he said it wouldn't be because of a lack of want or effort.
- He ended by answering a question about ticket prices. He said that when he took over the team, the Habs were third in the league in ticket prices. Now they are 8th or 9th. He said he's happy with that. He also mentions that with a 21,000-seat arena, there are a lot of the higher seats are at a popular price.