A statement from Geoff Molson

Prior to fielding questions from the media during his conference call on Wednesday, Geoff Molson shared an opening statement regarding the NHL's Return to Play plan and COVID-19's effects on Groupe CH, as well as reiterated his confidence in general manager Marc Bergevin.

Read the full statement below.

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well, and your families are doing well and staying healthy. It's been a long time since we've seen each other, and I look forward to that day when we're back at work together.

As you can imagine, I'm personally very excited for the playoffs to start. I'm very happy for our players, our veterans who will get the chance to play in the playoffs, and our young players who will get playoff experience. I think it's going to be a very good thing for our Club. I'm also happy for our fans who are going to get the chance to watch playoff hockey this summer - even if the arenas are empty - watching on television should be extraordinary.

To touch on the situation surrounding COVID-19, it's something that has had a terrible impact worldwide, including here in Quebec, affecting industries from A to Z. In our case, leading up to March 12, we were rolling at 100 miles per hour before things came to a halt. It's already been three months that we are on hold, and it could be many more. And when I say many more months, I'm not just speaking about our hockey club - which is very important to our business - but also evenko, Spectra, Just for Laughs, and all of our summer festivals that have been canceled. Having said that, we are very proud of our efforts to support our employees. However, like a lot of companies across the world that have been seriously impacted, we had some difficult decisions to make. We are also proud of our efforts to support the community. I'm referring to the meals that we've been preparing for those in need, via initiatives put forth by our players, as well as our own Rise Together initiative that has raised over $100,000.

Finally, I would like to address one last point before taking questions. I need to address the rumors that have been circulating a little bit everywhere now. I am still young and in good health - I'm knocking on wood while I say this. I love what I do, and I am very proud to be the CEO of this fantastic sports and entertainment organization. I have a leadership team that is dedicated, motivated, and very competent. And even though we have accomplished a lot during the 11 years since I took this position, I still have a lot of ambition to do more long-term as CEO of this company. My biggest dream - and also the most important one - is to bring home a 25th Stanley Cup to Montreal one day. I have no intention to hire another president of hockey. There are very few teams across the NHL that do so, and there are a lot of reasons why. Marc [Bergevin] is one of the most respected GMs in hockey. He is also now among the most experienced, and he will continue to report to me. He is very well surrounded by people with a lot experience, including - without naming everyone - people like Scott Mellanby, Martin Lapointe, and John Sedgwick. There is a culture team-wide, and surrounding Marc, to never be afraid to question the decisions we take.