Here are a few highlights from their respective press conferences:
Molson on the Canadiens' season ticket sales:
I am so proud of our fans and season ticket holders because we didn't have a very good season last year. We finished last. But, we've made a lot of changes. The last time I saw the fan base like this was when we had a young generation of players that were coming up in 2009, 2010, and 2011, and people were excited about it. The excitement from the fans and our season ticket holders has been very strong, and we haven't seen any change in the support.
Molson on why Suzuki is ready for the captaincy role:
I've known him for a few years now. He's poised, he's a gentleman, he's loved by his teammates, he's loved by his coaches, and just that is a statement in itself. He's young, but I think he's very mature for his age and I have no doubt that he's ready to be captain of the Montreal Canadiens.
Gorton on Suzuki being named captain:
The thing about Nick is, when you talk about 23, sometimes you talk to a 23-year-old and you feel like he's 18, but Nick is the opposite. He's a very even-keeled guy. When I talk to him, I feel like he's 30 years old and I feel like he's been in the League a long time, even though he hasn't. We're really confident as a group in our choice. We spent a lot of time going through this, and I think it's a great fit for where we are and where we're going.
Gorton on Carey Price still being around the team, despite being on LTIR:
The players love him. He's a very popular player, for obvious reasons. He's one of the best goalies we've seen in the League for a long time, so to have a guy like him is really helpful. Nick has mentioned a number of times in our meetings that it would be nice to have Carey around. There's just something about him. He's a good person. Guys want to be around him. He has that similar personality to Nick. They're friends and they've been together for a few years. I think Carey being around can only help the organization in a lot of ways.
Hughes on making a decision regarding where Juraj Slafkovsky will play this season:
I expect it to be kind of a dynamic process with him, and I think we'll talk to a lot of our young players. Having been on the agent side, my experience with young guys that start in the NHL and then go to the American Hockey League, they assume it's because they did something wrong or their game isn't progressing. We may make a decision to [send] somebody down, whether it be a forward or a defenseman, for different reasons. If we had a defenseman that's playing 15 or 16 minutes in the NHL and doing well, but now we want him running a power play and playing 25 or 26 minutes, we might move him down for a month and bring somebody back up. We have the flexibility to do that, and we're going to rely on our coaching staff and our development group and our viewings as well to make those decisions. At the end of the day, first overall or fifth overall, we're worried about where he ends up being, not where he is today, so the decision is going to be based on what we think is best for Juraj to become the best player, not what he does at 18.
St-Louis on the process behind choosing Suzuki as captain:
I had a meeting with Nick in July and brought the idea up and shared my thoughts. I wanted him to think about it and to lean on his close circle of friends and family and have discussions. It's a big decision. You've got to be ready for it. While he did that, I had talks with Kent and Jeff and talks with other players. We circled back, had further discussions, and we made the decision.
St-Louis on communicating with Brendan Gallagher during the captaincy process:
Gally's been here for a while. He's a guy I respected a lot playing against him, and now as a coach, I probably respect him even more. He was definitely part of the process, and he's a guy that will be a great resource for Suzy to lean on. He's a big part of that leadership group.
