First, I would like to congratulate the entire Alouettes organization on winning the Gray Cup. Whether it was the players who gave their heart and soul to the cause, the coaching staff led by Jason Maas, the general manager Danny Maciocia, a man from Saint-Léonard like me who I really like, or the owner Pierre Karl Péladeau, each of them contributed to this championship. It’s completely deserved.
It’s an inspiring story considering the journey the team had to travel to get to the final. The Alouettes had every excuse in the world for not being successful with the supervision imposed before the season began. Maciocia’s hands were tied. The arrival of Péladeau, a man close to the people, was a breath of fresh air for the team and its fans.
I still remember the speech he gave to the players in training camp after acquiring the franchise. It’s rare that we see something like this from an owner. He hammered home the same message his father had given him: “We play to win.”
Winning the Gray Cup shows that a group of people can achieve great things if they have a strong will to win and commitment. Achieving this requires a collective effort, from the players to the support staff.
Many people can be inspired by the Alouettes. This is especially true for Canadians.
But be careful, let’s put things into perspective: Unlike the Alouettes, they can’t dream of the Stanley Cup straight away. On the other hand, we want to see progress every season and for the team to always have a winning attitude.
A formative journey
Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened for some time. There are some things I don’t like at the moment. I hope things calm down on this crucial journey for the future.
After recent poor performances and the way Martin St-Louis approaches training, I expect a “business” attitude from the players. I have often told my players to be “businesslike,” meaning to be focused and have the mentality to win. I reminded them before every game that we have to work hard as soon as the puck is on the ice and that we have to be ready to set the pace and make sure we are better than the opponent.
During this stay abroad, the players will have to show character and play with aggression, which has been missing in recent weeks. The opportunity is ideal as CH faces clubs that are not NHL powers. Beyond comments from fans and analysts, it’s important for players to prove to their teammates that they’re taking this to heart. To earn their respect, you must work hard for the team, regardless of your role. To move forward we have to do everything we can to win. We can’t play just to play.
A winning mentality
The Canadiens have the perfect example of a group of players who believe in themselves in their Montreal backyard. All members of the Alouettes are committed. They are role models to follow.
Their Gray Cup triumph is inspiring in the manner in which it was achieved as they have come a long way. They also had a final like this and never gave up even though they were behind by points for most of the game. As has been the case all season, they saved the best for last! They could have settled for a final performance, that was an achievement in itself, but they played to win and that mentality paid off.
