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Players Are People Too | Habs Feature

Adam Lieblein
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Players Are People Too | Habs Feature
Brendan Gallagher, Montreal Canadiens (screenshot)

Habs Feature: NHL, Montreal Canadiens, 24CH, Twitter, Podcast, Brendan Gallagher, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Allen, Habs

Brendan Gallagher, Montreal Canadiens (screenshot)

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | MONTREAL, QC. — As the new generation of Habs fans mature, all we hear are stories about the Hall of Famers, the retired jersey numbers, and most importantly the Stanley Cup runs. The last time the Montreal Canadiens won a Cup was in 1993, and with not much to celebrate since then, the frustration of Habs fans has grown considerably. 

As the 2022 NHL season nears, Canadiens fans can prepare for a season focused on development. The wins will be scarce, and it will be very easy to become discouraged at times.

With young talent pouring into the organization, players like Juraj Slafkovky, Filip Mesar, Owen Beck, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson and Sean Farrell (believe me, the list can go on), the strong majority of fans can’t match a personality to a name. While we can try to imagine details about the person based on facial expressions on ice, it is clear that the Montreal Canadiens organization does not provide enough content for Habs fans to enjoy. So here are a couple ideas.

Bring Back 24CH

Personality within a locker room is very important when trying to build a team that a fan base can get behind. When the Canadiens documentary style series, 24CH, was canceled after the 2017 season, fans were devastated.

24CH gave fans a consistent behind-the-scenes look at all of their favorite players, coaches, and trainers. Between 2012 and 2017, most Habs fans will remember the dynamic duo of young superstars: Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher. A big reason why the “Gallys”  were chalked up as a duo was because of the moments that 24CH gave us. 

Other organizations have been producing this documentary-style reality TV show content for years. On September 24th, The Boston Bruins released the first episode of the tenth season of their version of 24CH, “Behind the B.”

Similarly, the Columbus Blue Jackets, release episodes covering behind-the-scenes action titled “Behind the Battle.” The content that these fan bases are provided is something that Habs fans would be excited for, and give them something to look forward too, especially heading into a growth season.

Habs Duels

As professional athletes, having a competitive edge is a given, especially when talking about hockey players.  “Habs Duels” were short videos, no longer than seven minutes, of two players dueling against each other in a game, or task.

The Habs have not released an episode since 2018, so I think it is fair to say we shouldn’t be expecting one soon. These segments made it easy for depth/role players turn into household names. 

It gave fans a closer look at the competitive side of these players, while also examining the relationship they had with one another.

Embracing A Creative Approach

The Canadiens rely on mainstream media in order to deliver their message. If the club chose to partner with independent media, there is a golden opportunity for a fresh, creative approach to connect with fans more directly to deliver the type of content that they crave.

The Los Angeles Kings have done an impressive job when approaching this, as they have given the opportunity to the podcast “All The Kings Men” to be linked on the official team website, given the title of the “LA Kings Official Podcast.”

Rocket Sports Media launched its first podcast, Habs360, in 2011. After a seven-year run, spanning 250 episodes, the show had built considerable credibility and experience. The podcast was redesigned in 2018, now called Canadiens Connection, and continues to offer insight and analysis from credentialed journalists. The Canadiens could easily promote a podcast of such stature to add personality to the organization, and give a voice as an official production.

Twitter Impact

With the emergence of social media, NHL organizations have deduced that Twitter is an effective way to communicate with fans. It offers an opportunity to give the organization a personality, along with the players.

After the Carolina Hurricanes were called “a bunch of jerks” by Canadian personality and hockey mind, Don Cherry, the organization took it, and ran. They created a campaign surrounding their “new nickname” and promoted it through their Twitter account.

The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t the only team to have a notorious reputation when interacting with fans through Twitter. The Vegas Golden Knights always make sure to take jabs at other organizations, while also keeping a “fun” attitude. After beating the Canadiens in a 2017 preseason gam, the official Golden Knights Twitter account roasted a Habs fan defending the Canadiens.

Now, we can agree that for Habs fans this tweet was rather obnoxious. But, for a Knights fan, this type of content is entertaining and something of which they can get onboard.

If the Canadiens decided to follow in the footsteps of these teams, it would give the organization an identity. Obviously, it would be great to act a tad classier than the Canes and Knights, but the right type of engagement with fans would definitely be a positive.

Looking Ahead

In my view, it’s important to project the personalities of both players and the organization. Going through the peaks, and lows from the perspective of the locker room can help fans  relate to the players and be greater invested in the team.

It is important to be patient when dealing with excitement surrounding the prospects. There will be highlights, and definitely low-lights, but if the organization would give fans an easier way to connect with players, a greater understanding of their path ahead is possible.

By Adam Lieblein, Staff Writer
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