Hockey 911: The bubble, the present, and the future

MONTREAL - The Canadiens have a close relationship with the medical community, and so it was no surprise that several members of the organization took part in the second annual Hockey 911 conference online on Tuesday night.

The event, a fundraiser for the Montreal General Hospital (MGH)'s foundation and hosted by entertainer Gregory Charles and hockey journalist Chantal Machabee, featured Canadiens head team physician Dr. David Mulder, executive VP and CCO France Margaret Belanger, head coach Claude Julien, associate coach Kirk Muller, head athletic therapist Graham Rynbend, as well as Shea Weber, Nick Suzuki, and Brendan Gallagher.
In keeping with the connection to the MGH, the theme of the second annual Hockey 911 conference was Playoff Emergencies, and gave the various members of the Canadiens organization a chance to reflect on their postseason experience in the NHL's bubble in Toronto this summer.
For the rookie Suzuki, the only 'emergency' was that he set the League on fire with a dazzling performance in his inaugural foray into playoff hockey.
"I didn't really know what to expect, going into the bubble. There was a lot of talk of what it was going to be like. Once I got into the routine of what everything was going to be... we knew every off-day was a certain routine, and every game day was a certain routine," described Suzuki, who tied for the team lead with four goals and seven points in 10 postseason contests. "Once you get into the groove of that, it's just playing hockey without the fans. It was a lot different, but I think we did the best we could."
A veteran of 15 NHL seasons, Weber had nothing but praise for the first-year center's work, both up front and on the defensive side, too.
"I think his play spoke for itself. To be honest, I'm not sure what he did over the COVID break, but obviously he was stickhandling in his basement or playing some extra hockey because he came back and he was playing great. He scored some really big goals, he made some big plays," shared Weber of Suzuki, who finished second on the team in shots and second among forwards in average ice time. "He plays on both ends of the ice as well, and that's a side of the game a lot of young players don't tend to always respect."

For his part, Gallagher did have some medical emergencies to deal with this summer. In addition to tearing his hip in the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Habs alternate captain took a stick to the face from Philadelphia Flyers forward Matt Niskanen in Game 5.
Gallagher recounted the moments immediately following the hit for the Hockey 911 audience:
"I was trying to compose myself, I guess. I think I was actually pretty fortunate the way I landed. I was sitting upright, so blood wasn't able to leave the important areas of the body too much. I was able stay [conscious]. Then I realized something was wrong with my teeth. Other than that, not too much went through my mind. I would've liked a penalty. I realized he didn't get it, and I made sure the referee was aware that I was upset. We had a few words at the bench on the way by, and then I was just on with the game."
Among other things, Julien and Muller spoke of the head coach's own medical ordeal during the playoffs, a cardiac episode which culminated with doctors inserting a stent in Julien's coronary artery and which forced him out of the Flyers series.
Perhaps drawing on his experience emerging from the scare, the Canadiens bench boss took the opportunity to offer fans some encouragement in light of the pandemic.
"We're being put through a big test right now with COVID. It's certainly affecting everyone one way or another. But if you take the time to look at the situation, there are some positives in all of this. We often hear people say that they were able to spend more time with their family," he said. "We've been able to look back and see that life was going 100 mph, and it was sometimes hard to even have dinner together. So there have been some positives."

The coach also pointed to some encouraging signs on the vaccine front. And in keeping with the theme of looking forward to things to come, Gallagher had some exciting things to say about defenseman Alexander Romanov, who joined the team in the bubble.
"He's good. He's strong; I don't think people realize how strong he is. He's going to push guys around. You know how important defensemen are; we've been able to add a couple. But for him coming in, I think he's going to have an impact on our team," outlined Gallagher of the Russian blue-liner, Montreal's second-round pick (38th overall) in 2018. "He's hungry to get into the National Hockey League. You could tell how excited he was around the bubble. He's a good character kid, and everyone enjoyed being around him."

Although there's much to look forward to, there are still many people and organizations in need of all the help they can get - and Weber, for one, is more than happy to have contributed to the cause.
"I feel like it's the least we could do - I could do - in our situation. Especially in our community and the community I've grown into here, is somewhere I want to give back to and be a part of," explained the captain. "It's an easy decision for me."
To make a donation to the Montreal General Hospital foundation, click here.