Canadiens Hit Point Of Diminishing Returns On Selling Hope

The Montreal Canadiens have reached a very difficult stage of their long-term rebuild plan. No, I am not talking about the need to improve the team, though that’s certainly a pressing concern.

Just seven games into the 2024-25 season, a chorus of frustration has taken over the Habs-related discussions. Hope has quickly been replaced by despair, and that’s a very dangerous situation for the organization.

It’s easy to suggest fans need to dig deep and stay the course, but for those who have spent their hard-earned money on tickets, patience is a luxury. The Habs are in the entertainment industry, and they’re not offering a very entertaining product.

Fork In The Montreal Canadiens Road

Many sports executives will reject the idea that fans can apply enough pressure to force a change.

Many executives are lying.

Whether they recognize it or not, fans are the driving force behind every aspect of the sports landscape. It’s why many general managers are fired once fan confidence dissipates. It’s also why new general managers spend a lot of energy connecting with fans, just as Kent Hughes did when we took over from Marc Bergevin.

Hughes has hit a point of diminishing returns when it comes to selling hope, a situation that he anticipated from the first day on the job. He suggested the most challenging stage of the rebuild would be when the honeymoon with fans comes to an end.

The room has been cleaned, luggage has been packed, and the taxi bringing fans to the airport is on its way.

The honeymoon is clearly over.

What Hughes does next will come to define his tenure as the team’s general manager.

It would be foolish to cater to every whim and fancy, but there is some wisdom to be found within the heightened level of criticism this season. Fans aren’t expecting the team to win every game. Losses are par for the course. But they do (rightfully) expect the players to offer legitimate efforts every night.

The preseason was chaotic, and frankly, useless when it came to evaluating players. However, there was some value to the attitude the team adopted following the injury to newcomer Patrik Laine. Win or lose, the Habs committed to going out on their shields, a noble, if not necessary approach to any rebuild.

But that sense of team unity has already left the building, replaced by a squad of players that seem as frustrated as the fans when it comes to the team’s lack of success.

“We had a really good first shift until the end of that shift. Then the icing, then the turnover…the team was actually ready to play. We just shot outselves in the foot. When we had a pushback, we gave up that 5th goal. We were deflated.”

– Coach Marty St. Louis today pic.twitter.com/YZhCJxmSNd

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 23, 2024

Montreal Canadiens Brass Tacks

As harsh as it sounds, there is no room to be deflated in professional sports. The Canadiens could help their cause by bringing Arber Xhekaj back into the mix, as he was clearly the driving force behind the change in attitude during the preseason, but this issue goes beyond just one defenceman.

Sweeping changes are not necessary, at least not yet, and if history is any indication, attempting to speed up a rebuild has been the death knell for many franchises, but the Canadiens can certainly start to trim the fat when it comes to their current squad.

Fans have shown the ultimate dedication to this franchise for years, if not decades, and now they want to see the players on the ice display that same type of commitment. It’s a very reasonable compromise, and one that can be achieved without spending assets to improve the team in the short term.

Pride starts at the top, which means Hughes and Co. now have a responsibility to ensure every player who puts on la Sainte-Flanelle is doing it for the logo on the front, not just the name on the back.