Time to get things started

LAVAL-SUR-LE-LAC – The staging of the Canadiens’ annual golf tournament means that the offseason is officially over. On Tuesday morning, players, coaches and members of the team’s brass gathered at Laval-sur-le-Lac Golf Club to hit the links and raise funds for the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation. Before taking to the course, though, they took the time to reflect on the most recent campaign, while also looking ahead to the start of a new year.

FORWARD THINKING: With the struggles of the 2015-16 campaign now very much in the rear-view mirror, the Canadiens are ready to get back to the business of winning and making a run for hockey’s top prize.

With that in mind, general manager Marc Bergevin made roster moves aplenty over the last few months to address several of his squad’s needs and put the Canadiens in a position to turn things around as soon as possible.

Bergevin’s transactions were made with the unwavering support of owner and president Geoff Molson, who was the first member of the organization to speak publically on Tuesday at the 41st edition of the event.

“Obviously, we had a disappointing year last year. That was frustrating and it keeps you up at night. When you make all those big changes in the summer, it’s stressful. Marc made some major changes on this team, for the better in our opinion,” offered Molson, referencing Bergevin’s offseason acquisitions of Shea Weber, Alexander Radulov and Andrew Shaw. “It’s been a rock and roll summer – stressful at times, but here we are. We’re starting a new season. We can’t wait to see our current players and also our new players on the ice as a team.”

Neither can head coach Michel Therrien, who certainly shares Molson’s optimism with respect to what he believes the 2016-17 edition of the Canadiens is capable of accomplishing as the season rolls on. In short, the veteran bench boss fully appreciates the make-up of his roster already.

“There are a lot of positives about our team. I saw a lot of our players who’ve been showing up in Brossard and everyone is really excited. We have some new players on the team. Marc Bergevin has done a hell of a job in bringing in some character players,” praised Therrien, before sharing some additional thoughts about his new troops.

“I think we’re starting to pay a little more attention to Shea Weber. I think our fans who are watching Team Canada at the World Cup and the team concept that they have, this guy is a true leader and a demanding guy to play against,” added Therrien, on the subject of the long-time former Nasvhille Predators’ captain. “We also got guys like Radulov, another character guy, who has a great opportunity to show what he’s capable of doing in the NHL. We also got a guy like Shaw who won two Stanley Cups. And, …

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