FULL Montreal Canadiens Year-End Press Conference

[0:01] Before we start from the Canadian Organization, I would like to express our sincere condolences to the best families. [0:11] Claude is a joueur who will never be forgotten here in Montreal for his contributions. [0:16] We were in the city, we didn't have the chance to address it before. [0:26] Thank you. [0:27] For Cam, you remain an extremely young team. [0:30] In addition to the experience we acquire with the time and the years, [0:34] what are the elements that you have seen in the last weeks and the last months [0:38] that will allow you to pass to another level? [0:41] You know we are still far from the country. [0:44] Are you agree with him? What do you ask him to pass to another level? [0:47] We know we still have a lot of work to do to achieve the ultimate goal of winning the Coupe Stanley. [1:01] I think we will learn. [1:06] If you told me at the beginning of the past that we would arrive with 106 points [1:12] and we would arrive at the end of the conference in the East, I don't know if I would have thought. [1:20] So, in the end, it will be 48 hours. [1:33] We will take the time to diger everything, [1:36] to talk to the players, to talk to the coaches, [1:38] and to establish plans for the day in terms of these discussions. [1:45] Good morning, Mr. [1:46] Even if the evaluation is not completed, you are going to spend time, [1:51] you are going to spend a lot of time. [1:54] When you look at the progression of the development of the team in the reconstruction, [2:00] what do you think of the team in the Canadiens of Montreal? [2:04] Do you think the team participated in the Top 4 [2:06] or did it 1 or 2 to get out of the first round? [2:09] I think it's the reality. [2:14] When Colorado has eliminated Colorado, I sent a text to Chris McVarland [2:20] and his response was short, but he said it's a trophy that is so difficult to win. [2:27] I think what we see is that there are a lot of positives to play this year. [2:35] It's true, at the level of the team and at the level of the individual, [2:40] it's not easy to lose the way we lost against Caroline. [2:46] We know that Jeff and the management team, [2:51] we know that players have learned a lot. [2:58] What does it take to them to win a Coupe this year in the series? [3:03] I'm talking about each one individually, [3:06] and I think that as a team, we've learned a lot. [3:10] But to express them in detail, it will take a little time. [3:15] You've placed an important standard this year with 100 points and more, [3:27] and your participation at the final conference. [3:29] I'm aware of the response that you've given to us about that, [3:32] but the expectations will be different. [3:36] Is it that from this moment, to complete certain lacunes, [3:39] there's no perfect team, you have certain, [3:41] you wait for the development, [3:46] that those young people arrive really at maturity, [3:49] or if your results will force you to say [3:52] that maybe we need to go a little bit more quickly, [3:55] given where our team has reached. [4:01] I can't say that we see, [4:03] again, it's late, it's late, it's late, [4:05] it's late, it's late, it's late, [4:07] or more than that, but I would say that [4:14] we'll always try to have, [4:19] if we're in order to advance things, [4:22] we'll always look at this opportunity, [4:26] this opportunity, this chance to advance. [4:28] But it's never, as we say in poker, [4:33] we're all in, it's all in, [4:35] we'll do everything to have this team the next year, [4:38] if it's a risk of sacrificing the future of the organization. [4:44] So it's always a balance. [4:48] What kind of pressure are, [4:50] when, to arrive more quickly, [4:51] is that what we need to do? [4:54] We continue to follow the plan, [4:58] but the plan change all the time. [5:00] I think I say it's always been said, [5:02] it's not like we're here with a, [5:04] what do you say blueprint? [5:05] A reference. [5:10] What? [5:11] A reference. [5:13] It's not like we're here with 4,5 years, [5:17] it was on A, B, C, D, [5:19] to Z, [5:20] it changes through the weeks, [5:23] over the days, over the months, and I can tell the participants that we are going to [5:30] take a lot of reflection decisions, always. [6:05] In terms of an opportunity to improve your team, knowing that you probably can't fill every hole in one summer? [6:16] I'd say every summer has opportunities, but it's hard to say unless we know the opportunity. [6:26] But, you know, like last summer, we went in hoping to add to our core group, [6:34] find somebody at the right ages to fit in there. [6:38] We did that, we felt with Noah, with Zach, so I think this summer we'll go in with the same approach. [6:45] We're going to try to keep going, but we don't know what's next until it comes along. [6:50] You know, it's early on, you know, we just got eliminated, so it's hard to say what might be available to us, [6:55] but certainly, you know, Kent and I, since we've been here, we've been pretty aggressive trying to go forward, [7:03] so I don't see how that would change anything. [7:08] I think Gortz is dead on. [7:11] I mean, this time last year, I don't think we were aware that Noah Dobson was available. [7:16] So, you read a lot of speculation, I think, in social media and otherwise, [7:23] in terms of who may or may not be available. [7:26] I've started to make the rounds in terms of contacting teams, [7:30] but sometimes players' availability is team-driven, sometimes it's player-driven. [7:37] So, ultimately, you know, it's my job to make sure we're on top of things, [7:43] fully aware of what opportunities might be out there that allow us to advance what we're trying to accomplish, [7:52] but in an intelligent manner. [7:54] And I think, like, in answering Martijn's question, the message is, [7:59] are we going to trade for a guy for one year that gives us a chance to be better [8:04] and compete for a cup at the expense of some really important pieces of the future? [8:08] Unlikely. [8:10] You know, hopefully we can continue to do what we've done, [8:13] which is where we are aggressive in adding. [8:15] It's players that can continue to help us short-term, but also medium and long-term. [8:20] Rukens, you think of the run Jakub Dobsch had this season. [8:27] How did his performance kind of impact the future situation of having a three-goal team right now? [8:35] Well, I think I've said this almost every year about three goalies and say we don't plan on having them forever, [8:43] and, miraculously, we continue to have three goalies. [8:47] So, again, I think we have to sit down and reflect, [8:52] but Dobe had, obviously, an incredible run postseason. [8:57] He had a very good season in general. [8:59] One thing that always stands out to us about him is, [9:02] even if he gives up a soft goal, [9:05] he's just got such a competitive spirit that if the game is still on the line, [9:11] he's going to fight, he's going to continue to fight, and that's to his credit. [9:14] Hi, guys. I don't have an earpiece this year. [9:25] You've got to give me an obligatory question here. [9:28] Sorry. [9:29] Go ahead. [9:30] Well, Kemp was mentioning how it's not maybe a time to go all in, [9:33] and I think everyone could agree that there's more development to come, [9:37] and you're not quite at that phase. [9:38] But I'm just wondering how you do the calculation of when it is time to go all in, [9:46] and what sort of trigger points, because I think a lot of people would maybe look at your team, [9:51] say you're in the Final Four, you're that close. [9:53] Why not now? [9:54] I know the reasons why not now, but how do you kind of view when that time will be? [10:00] I think it's more to what Eric said. [10:05] It's the opportunity could exist. [10:08] We just don't know the opportunity. [10:10] What type of player we're talking about would give us the ability to make that leap. [10:17] So we do feel like we're in a good spot. [10:20] We're obviously Final Four. [10:22] We appreciate that. [10:23] It's going to be very big for the organization going forward, that experience. [10:27] I think everybody in the organization. [10:29] Each round was different. [10:31] Each round we learned something from. [10:33] But I think to say that, you know, we're moving in the right direction. [10:41] I think the one thing we've said since we've been here is sort of, it's what's next. [10:47] That's always what we're looking at, what's next. [10:49] And, you know, we'll spend the next few days, next few weeks trying to figure that out. [10:54] You know, Kent, I'm sure we'll be on the phone quite a bit here now to try to figure out what might be available to us. [11:00] And we'll go like that. [11:02] But it's very hard to say, to lay out a plan and say, yeah, now we're in, because we don't necessarily know what that could look like. [11:09] But we feel like we're in a good spot. [11:11] Obviously, we had a really good season. [11:14] And, you know, we're all excited about what could be next. [11:18] But none of us really know right now at this point. [11:24] Question to both of you. [11:28] Marty was talking about the identity and the chase to find the right identity as the Hurricanes have been building that throughout the years. [11:40] How close do you think your team is to the identity you want to build? [11:44] And how close do you feel Marty is approaching you guys to get to exactly what you're looking for? [11:53] I mean, we're getting there. [11:54] I don't think it's – we're not done. [11:58] We have some work to do to do that. [12:00] I think one thing Carolina, I believe, showed us was some of the scars they may have had in their history of not getting over the hump. [12:11] And now they did. [12:12] I think their team commitment was impressive. [12:15] I think that their work ethic was very impressive. [12:18] It's a really good team. [12:21] But it's probably a big part is going through it and, unfortunately, having the disappointment of losing. [12:29] And I think it makes you hungrier. [12:31] And I hope that's something that we gain from that. [12:34] And we can appreciate their identity. [12:39] They had a similar identity that we have. [12:43] But, no, we're not there. [12:45] We're going to continue to build on that. [12:48] And hopefully we'll see that next season a little bit more. [12:53] But it's in a good spot. [12:55] But it could be better. [12:58] I think Gortz, he talks about their identity. [13:04] They have their identity. [13:06] And they have played with their identity. [13:09] I think we have to be prudent to not mix, [13:16] but we're going to play with how we need to improve [13:23] to become a team capable of winning the Cup this year. [13:27] I think we're going to be a team with... [13:31] And we're going to continue to be a team that has a lot of abilities. [13:34] But we need to adjust to the team. [13:37] Currently, I think we're not the best team defensively. [13:41] If we look at the statistics, the physical implications, [13:47] I think that Carolyn, even if they're not a big team, [13:50] they've shown us that they've really played a team physique, [13:54] that there's an effect on the series. [13:57] So, we're going to learn a lot about all the series. [14:00] The series against Tim, not the series against Buffalo, [14:03] but the series against Carolyn. [14:05] We, as a team of management team, [14:08] our coaches and our players, [14:10] we're going to continue to evolve as a team. [14:13] But the identity, I think that it will not change. [14:16] We've never experienced the same thing. [14:18] It was a good team offensively, [14:20] but they've learned how to defend and add to their game [14:23] before they arrived at the final destination. [14:32] Question for Kent. [14:34] The last public formation that we had on Martin St-Louis [14:37] was signed on the contract until 2020. [14:40] I just want to know where we are in relation to that [14:43] in relation to the status of the long term. [14:46] We've been discussing. [14:48] There's still another year on his contract. [14:50] We've just finished the season, [14:52] but I think we're going to discuss in the summer. [14:54] Excellent. [14:57] Question. [15:24] Question. [15:28] Question. [15:29] Question. [15:33] Question. [15:36] Question. [15:37] Question. [15:39] Question. [15:40] Question. [15:45] Question. [15:46] Question. [15:47] Question. [15:48] Question. [15:49] Question. [15:50] Question. [15:51] Question. [15:52] Question. [15:53] Question. [15:55] Question. [15:56] Question. [15:57] Question. [15:58] Question. [15:59] Question. [16:01] Question. [16:02] Question. [16:03] Question. [16:04] Question. [16:05] Question. [16:06] Question. [16:07] Question. [16:08] Question. [16:09] Question. [16:10] Question. [16:11] Question. [16:12] Question. [16:13] Question. [16:14] Question. [16:15] Question. [16:16] Question. [16:17] Question. [16:18] and on the level of our team and what we have to add. [16:22] I don't believe that we will discuss a lot more in the next days, [16:29] but I can't tell you that our point of view is necessarily different from what was the deadline. [16:36] It's not like we were surprised by something. [16:42] Jeff, what are you most proud about this season? [16:48] The second part, I can't answer this a little bit in French, but what's the biggest lesson you've learned? [16:58] I would say to start with the Carolina, I just think that we talked a little bit about identity, [17:04] and they have an identity in all facets of that series. [17:09] They were better than us, and I think that's what we learned, [17:13] is that we have to be better in a lot of areas if we want to get to that next level. [17:18] I think they showed us that after that first game. [17:23] They were very impressive, and we weren't quite up to it. [17:27] I think going forward, though, leaving that with our players, leaving that with our coaches, [17:32] leaving that with us all summer, I think will help us going forward. [17:35] As far as the season, most impressive? [17:38] Just, you know, I think in the National Hockey League it's very hard to get better every year [17:45] and not have, you know, some kind of regression, and I think our players are able to do that [17:52] and take a next step forward and kind of take the leap through that, you know, just getting in the playoffs. [17:59] And I think that's very impressive. [18:03] You know, on a side note, maybe not so related to the team, but just the buzz in the city that the players were able to create. [18:14] I think it's very impressive. [18:15] Our fans are, they have to be the best hockey fans there are. [18:19] They showed that. [18:21] I think it's an opportunity for us to play that way, to go on this run. [18:28] I think our fans show the rest of the league, the players in the league, how impressive of a place this is to play. [18:33] And if you're a National Hockey League player and you're looking around, this would be a place I would think would be on the top of your list based on what we just showed them. [18:42] Bonjour Monsieur. [18:46] Quand tu nous as dit à la journée limite des transactions que tu avais travaillé sur quelque chose et que finalement ça n'a pas marché. [18:58] Est-ce que ce dossier-là peut être encore actif ou on doit l'oublier? [19:03] Non, encore, ça dépend de l'autre équipe, mais ça ne nous empêche pas de faire l'appel puis d'essayer de le revisiter. [19:15] Je vais appeler 31 équipes puis visiter beaucoup de choses puis on va, comme j'ai discuté tantôt, qu'est-ce qui va être disponible au mois de juin n'est pas nécessairement toujours la même que qu'est-ce qui était disponible au mois de mars, mais ça reste à moi de déterminer. [19:35] Non. [19:37] Martin Saint-Louis, quelle évaluation tu fais? Martin a reconnu lui-même qui a beaucoup appris à travers cette expérience-là en série. [19:56] Comment tu as trouvé sa gestion de la formation tactiquement aussi? Il y a un mot peut-être dessus qui est revenu peut-être dans les discussions publiques. [20:04] Comment tu as trouvé qu'il s'est adapté à travers tout ça? [20:06] On est très content de… je pense qu'on doit toujours regarder le travail que ce soit d'un joueur, d'un coach ou de les coachs dans l'ensemble, dans l'année dans l'ensemble puis pas dans une série. [20:22] Je trouve toujours, au moins comme agent, j'ai toujours eu le sentiment que les équipes réagissent beaucoup à l'équipe qui a gagné une coupe cette année. [20:35] Puis, tout au cours, on doit tous devenir, au départ de ma carrière comme agence, tout le monde voulait devenir les New Jersey Devils. [20:44] Puis, il faut qu'on soit plus grands, meilleurs défensivement. [20:47] Tant que tout le monde voulait devenir Pittsburgh, on doit jouer plus vite. [20:53] Après ça, c'est Pittsburgh. Après ça, c'est Vegas, Colorado, Florida. [20:57] Je pense que les équipes vont gagner de leur style à eux-mêmes, puis ils vont faire de manière différente. [21:07] Alors, si je regarde notre équipe, puis les CD, puis évaluer nos coachs, c'est impossible de ne pas l'évaluer de manière positive. [21:16] On a avancé beaucoup dans la saison régulier. Il y a des joueurs qui ont avancé beaucoup aussi. [21:22] Mais comme pour nos joueurs, comme pour nous, il y a encore du travail à faire, puis ça s'applique aussi à nos coachs. [21:31] Puis, ils le savent. [21:33] Puis, je m'attends qu'ils vont travailler très fort dans l'été pour évaluer leur saison. [21:39] Qu'est-ce que l'équipe a besoin? Comment qu'ils peuvent continuer à s'améliorer? [21:42] Puis, la chose que je remarque d'eux autres, c'est que comme un staff, ils sont améliorés beaucoup d'une année à l'autre. [21:49] Puis, je m'attends à ça d'eux autres l'an prochain aussi. [21:52] Question pour Jeff. [21:56] Your top line drove the bus the whole year, provided a lot of offense. [22:02] Coming in the playoffs, they had their hands full in all three series. [22:06] What did you learn about their way to handle playoff hockey? [22:12] And to which extent is this a byproduct of the fact that the supporting cast was not quite there? [22:19] I mean, I think playoffs was kind of a little bit of a flip from the regular season, right? [22:26] In the regular season, our top line kind of drove everything all the time, right? [22:30] And we probably asked a lot of them. [22:33] And in the playoffs, we got, you know, some secondary scoring quite a bit. [22:39] Really impactful guys down the bottom of the lineup. [22:42] So, listen, I think that, like I said, we were asking a lot of our top guys. [22:48] And maybe that was a part of it. [22:51] I mean, they did find a way to get on the sheet. [22:55] I think still Nick ends up pretty close to a point a game, right? [22:58] In the playoffs, playing against some of the best players in the league. [23:02] So, I think more importantly for them is, I think, going through it and understanding, you know, what it's going to take [23:09] and how to manage themselves going forward to be able to get through the playoffs round after round. [23:15] It's difficult. [23:16] So, all three of them had great years. [23:19] I don't think we can lose sight of that. [23:22] I think they all did something that they haven't done before. [23:26] You know, a 30-goal score, a 50-goal score, a 100-point season, you know. [23:31] So, we can lose sight of that. [23:35] The playoffs is hard. [23:36] I think if you look around the league, some of the top guys, you know, they're going against the best D in the league. [23:42] And they're able to neutralize at some points. [23:46] And so, I think going forward, just understanding that, having that experience that they have now, [23:51] is going to help them and help us. [23:53] And so, I look forward to what they'll do next. [23:56] I would add to that. [23:58] And I think, you know, being here in Canada, it's going to be a little bit of the narrative going into the Cup Final, [24:05] that there was that belief that certain players in Toronto underperformed in the playoffs. [24:12] And one season doesn't necessarily, one playoff season wouldn't necessarily reflect another. [24:20] And I think Mitch Marner is sitting atop of the playoff scoring race. [24:25] And it's not just what he's doing offensively. [24:27] It's how he's contributing to their team, being where they are. [24:30] And if we look around at the three series that we had, or the three teams that we played against in the playoffs, [24:39] it wasn't necessarily their top scorers that were their top scorers, including Carolina, right? [24:44] I think it's been offensively driven more by Stankov and Blake and Hall, and that wasn't necessarily the case in the regular season. [24:51] So, we just got to get better. Period. [25:00] You're going to have to take a decision with Kirby Dock d'ici le 29 juin, 5 heures. [25:05] Quelle évaluation vous faites de son jeu en saison et en saison? [25:10] Kirby, c'est sûr, on sait ce qu'il est. [25:14] C'est un joueur qui est très talentueux. [25:16] Aussi très… comment on dit qu'il a beaucoup de malchance à date au niveau des blesseurs. [25:26] Mais on doit discuter ce soir avec Kirby, probablement aujourd'hui, dans son rencontre de sortie. [25:33] Puis moi puis Jeff, Marty, Sedge, tout le monde doit discuter son cas. [25:40] Mais c'est encore trop tôt pour discuter ces choses comme ça. [25:44] Ken, c'est trois dans le même package. [25:50] J'ai trois de nos joueurs qui ont fait l'objet de cas de gestion à la différence de saison. [25:55] Samuel Montembeau, Patrick Lanné et Brandon Gallagher ont fait le parcours. [25:58] Chacun des trois, tu peux nous éclairer sur ça a été quoi l'évolution de votre décision? [26:04] Puis dans le cas de Montembeau et Gallagher, c'est quoi la suite? [26:07] Mais la réponse… au moins la deuxième partie de la réponse, ça serait la même qu'il y avait à propos de Kirby puis n'importe quel joueur. [26:17] Il faut qu'on… ça fait 48 heures, il faut qu'on prenne le temps pour digérer. [26:22] Mais au niveau de la gestion de… Patrick, c'est un peu différent vu qu'il ait été blessé pour une bonne période du temps. [26:30] Pas disponible à l'équipe. [26:32] Mais je pense que les décisions dans l'ensemble, c'était toutes pour la même raison. [26:38] To highlight it… [26:43] Pour le souligner, j'ai eu une discussion avec Sam, qu'on a rappelé… [26:51] Juste après le trade deadline, on est retourné de Californie. [26:55] Puis j'avais dit à Sam, on sait que tu es un bon gardien. [27:01] Tu ne joues pas à tes moyens dans le moment. [27:03] Tu n'es pas le premier gardien. [27:05] Il y en a plusieurs parmi les meilleurs gardiens dans le monde qui ont eu des saisons difficiles. [27:10] Mais on… on est fini sixième dans la ligue. [27:15] Mais en même temps, on était dans une… une bataille pour faire les séries tout le long. [27:21] Puis on est retourné de Californie ayant perdu contre San Jose Anaheim. [27:27] Puis on a battu à L.A. mais on n'a pas bien joué dans le match. [27:30] Alors on était vraiment dans le moment, comme j'ai dit à Sam, on va donner la chance à Fowler. [27:36] Je n'ai aucune idée comment ça va passer. [27:38] Mais on va prendre les décisions en fonction de ce qui nous donne la meilleure chance à gagner chaque match. [27:44] Puis j'avais demandé à Sam, je lui ai dit, je te demande de « keep fighting ». [27:52] Je n'ai aucune idée comment ça va aller. [27:56] Mais continuer à te mettre en meilleure forme puis de « sois prêt » puis d'être un bon coéquipier. [28:03] Puis je ne peux pas donner plus de… je ne pourrais pas parler en mieux de Sam Anaheim. [28:09] C'est impossible. Je pense qu'il est dans la meilleure forme de sa vie, premièrement. [28:15] Alors tu vois l'affaire qu'il a mis comme coéquipier, exceptionnel. [28:20] Puis je peux dire la même chose de Galley puis Patrick Leining. [28:24] C'est sûr, dans le cas de Galley, c'est juste plus difficile. [28:27] Ayant son… ses contributions à l'Organisation des Canadiens au courant de sa carrière ici. [28:36] C'est sûr, ce n'est pas facile. J'ai eu une couple de discussions avec lui. [28:40] Comme en approchant les series. [28:44] Juste pour lui faire savoir qu'on sait que c'est pas… c'est une situation très difficile. [28:52] Décis à avaler pour un joueur qui était un des meilleurs joueurs dans son temps ici à Montréal. [28:59] Puis Patrick, même chose au niveau de… comme j'ai dit, il était tellement en arrière. [29:07] Vu qu'il n'a pas joué puis là, on a été mis dans une situation où il faut absolument gagner. [29:11] Ça rend sa situation difficile. [29:14] Mais lui aussi, incroyable comme coéquipier. [29:19] Puis même pas juste les… comme… de se présenter aux pratiques puis tout, mais les événements autour… [29:25] Même sur notre tour, il était avec l'équipe samedi soir au cancer de Luke Combs. [29:31] Alors, je sais qu'il y a eu des… je peux juste dire qu'il était extraordinaire comme personne. [29:39] Puis je serais jamais inquiet de donner une référence pour Patrick Lenning. [29:47] Mais est-ce qu'il aurait été disponible pour jouer? [29:49] S'il a fallu faire appel à lui? [29:50] Parce qu'on le voit quand même s'entraîner depuis, je pense, le mois de janvier. [29:53] Les entraînements complets, avec contact, avec tous ces gars. [29:56] Tu sais, il était quand même salu des blessés tout ce temps-là. [29:59] Comment vous apprenez de l'équipe? [30:01] Je pense que Patrick a été inquiet probablement vu que… je ne sais pas à quel point que [30:12] peut-être qu'il aurait pu jouer s'il voulait le forcer. [30:15] Mais je pense que c'est un mélange du fait que… [30:19] rendu au mois d'avril, que les chances qu'il joueraient étaient très minces. [30:25] Peut-être que ça a mis dans la tête que, OK, je vais juste… [30:28] je ne pousserai pas au point de déterminer si j'étais capable. [30:31] Bien, messieurs. [30:34] Salut. [30:36] Vous avez vu par le pensier être très agressif d'être capable de « lock-down » blé noyau. [30:42] On a une grande lune d'oeuvres cet été qui est disponible pour prolonger son contrat. [30:45] C'est le changement de la convention collective qui enlève la huitième année [30:48] et qui change la structure du contrat. [30:50] Est-ce que vous envisagez avoir la même priorité avec ce jeune homme-là, [30:54] ne pas figurer comme un joueur? [30:57] Sans aucune doute qu'on voit Ivan comme un joueur de noyau de l'équipe. [31:05] Puis, je vais avoir des discussions avec son agent, j'imagine, dans les prochaines semaines. [31:14] Quoique Ivan aime Montréal, puis il aime jouer ici pour les Canadiens. [31:23] Alors, je m'attends qu'on dise « where there's a will, there's a way ». [31:30] Trouver une moyenne à s'entendre sur un contrat. [31:34] Mais, je ne sais jamais si des joueurs aiment des contrats à long terme ou à court terme. [31:41] Mais, idéalement, on continuera plus sur le côté long terme. [31:45] Robby Kent, au sujet de Brandon Gallagher, c'est quoi vos intentions avec lui? [31:53] Tout le monde est conscient qu'il a énormément donné à l'organisation. [31:58] J'imagine qu'il a toujours le feu en lui, qu'il joue la dernière année de son contrat. [32:03] Qu'est-ce qu'on fait dans ce temps-là qu'un vétéran comme ça, on essaie de l'accommoder, [32:06] de lui trouver un environnement où il pourrait jouer, où il pourrait être heureux? [32:12] On essaie de répondre sans lui rencontrer, puis on va lui rencontrer aujourd'hui. [32:19] Mais, la seule chose que je peux vous dire, c'est qu'on lui doit le respect. [32:30] Puis, on a toujours, depuis qu'on est ici, essayé de démontrer ce respect envers les joueurs. [32:38] Alors, comment ça va déroulé, spécifiquement, je ne peux pas vous dire, mais dépendant de qu'est-ce que Brandon nous dit, [32:50] c'est sans aucun doute qu'on continue à démontrer ce respect envers lui. [32:56] Trois dernières questions. Les relances de Martin McGuire, Arvyn Besson. [33:03] Jeff, je ne peux pas répondre à ça un peu, mais j'ai l'impression que vous avez votre réponse. [33:06] Est-ce que votre équipe s'en défendre fortement et bien suffisant pour rester au top de votre division l'année prochaine? [33:16] Do we defend well enough? [33:18] I mean, at times, I think we do. [33:23] I think we did in the first two rounds. [33:26] I thought we did pretty well. [33:27] I think in the third round it got away a little bit from us. [33:30] No, I think we could be better. [33:32] I think we will be better. [33:34] We've already talked to Marty a little bit about it. [33:36] He feels the same way. [33:38] Our path forward is to be better in all areas, but defending is one of them. [33:42] We think we have a pretty good decor. [33:44] We think we have the players up front that are responsible and know how to defend. [33:53] So I think we'll be better. [33:55] I think we're moving in the right direction. [33:57] I think if you go back in time and to where we are now, I think it's noticeably better. [34:04] But it's not something that you gain overnight, I think. [34:07] But I do think this playoff will help us understand what it's going to take a little bit better. [34:13] You can. [34:18] You know, you've often sort of mentioned how you don't want to block players. [34:24] So I'm just wondering, as this goes along and you have to sort of marry these different age pockets that you have to kind of manage, [34:36] is your calculation of at some point you have to sort of make that decision that, okay, we will have to block players because we need to get better. [34:43] How do you sort of look at that as the team progresses and its own expectations for themselves start to elevate? [34:52] Yeah, I mean, I think that's inevitable for us. [34:58] We're certainly closer to being in a position where we would accept that scenario than when we first got here right in January or February of 2022, [35:11] where that was we would never have accepted it. [35:14] So we've got to make continue to make decisions here as we go in terms of signing or acquiring players. [35:24] And what does what are the implications of that? [35:27] And in terms of a young player that's either here that needs more runway or a player that's not here yet, [35:33] but that we have kind of highlighted as somebody that we think is a big part or a part of our future and we'll have to make decisions. [35:42] And if we make a decision that blocks a path for a certain type of player, then we have to make an evaluation as to what we do. [35:51] Right. Does that mean that player becomes available to trade to do something else? [35:57] I mean, those are it's very hard to kind of give you a specific answer to it as opposed to kind of more philosophical answer. [36:07] And exactly how that plays out, I think we'll see. [36:12] But I think in theory, we're at a point where, you know, we may make a decision on something that makes it harder for another player to kind of reach his full potential. [36:23] I mean, I think there's still a path for David to be a big part of us going forward. [36:45] It's we're just trying to get through those interruptions, as you say. [36:50] But he's before the before he got hurt the last time, his his level was was was pretty high. [36:57] And I feel like pretty consistent. [37:01] We knew what we're getting every night. [37:03] We saw a little flash when we brought him up, gave him a little taste. [37:06] So we still think the future is pretty bright with David. [37:10] Unfortunately, just been, you know, it's been injuries that he's dealt with. [37:15] So hopefully we're through that. [37:16] And, you know, in September, October, we're we're talking about something totally different. [37:21] Yeah, just obviously. [37:27] So I guess who's dealing with these and whether or not he's in or anything. [37:48] I think by the end of the day, we'll be able to do that better. [37:50] You know, today they're all getting their medicals right now. [37:52] So we should have something a little bit better for you. [37:56] It's it's hard for us to sit up here and give you anything other than because we don't have enough detail. [38:00] By the end of the day, we should have some better information on that. [38:09] The Flyers surgery. [38:10] I don't think so. [38:11] I don't think so. [38:12] I don't think so. [38:14] But I could be wrong. [38:15] It would be the first time, but I could be wrong. [38:18] Yeah. [38:19] Just share with us later today a list of the Flyers just to do that. [38:25] Do we always do that? [38:26] No? [38:29] Well, I should share my story about you guys now then. [38:33] Can I do that? [38:34] Okay, good. [38:36] I asked it. [38:37] So the series ended, the playoffs ended and I talked to the league and I said, how were [38:41] we? [38:42] And he's like, oh, you guys, you're divas. [38:44] You're a bunch of divas. [38:46] I said, are players a divas? [38:47] He said, no, the media, the Montreal media divas. [38:51] So you should be proud. [38:52] Right. [38:53] You left, you left your bark, but it was funny. [38:57] But yeah, I can't tell you. [39:01] Yeah. [39:02] Listen, listen, you guys go in. [39:04] You're, you're an overwhelming bunch, right? [39:06] You come to some of these other towns and it's 10 people, right? [39:09] You come in masses. [39:11] So, but we appreciate you and thanks for everything. [39:14] Yeah. [39:15] Yeah. [39:17] You left your mark. [39:18] I'm a proud of all of you. [39:19] I don't hear you complaining about anonymous sources anymore. [39:23] Non-mas sources? [39:24] Yeah. [39:25] No more complaining about anonymous sources. [39:26] Have I ever complained to you? [39:27] No, that's fair. [39:29] Must be talking about somebody else. [39:33] Yeah. [39:34] Just to tell me. [39:35] And Jeff l'a mentioné en anglais, but je voulais remercier nos partisans [39:41] comme Jeff l'a dit. [39:43] Je pense qu'ils sont fait remarquer par la Ligue au complet, mais pas juste la Ligue. [39:50] Je sais même des personnalités comme Pat McAfee, qui est un gars très suivi au plus au football sur ESPN, [40:02] parlait beaucoup de l'ambiance à Montréal. [40:05] Alors, je dois donner un grand remercier à nos partisans, les meilleurs partisans au monde. [40:10] Ils aident tellement nos joueurs, puis je pense qu'ils aident l'organisation aussi. [40:15] Merci. [40:16] Merci. [40:19] Merci. [40:20] Merci. [40:21] Merci.