Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin selected 18-year-old defenceman Logan Mailloux as the team’s first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, after Mr. Mailloux was fined by authorities in Sweden last year for distributing a photo of him engaging in a consensual sexual act with a woman who had not consented to the photo’s sharing.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
The Montreal Canadiens did not become the most storied franchise in professional hockey only for its record 24 Stanley Cup wins. The character of its greatest players contributed as much to the team’s mythical status as their beautiful goals. Maurice (the Rocket) Richard, Jean (Big Bill) Béliveau and Guy (the Blond Demon) Lafleur were gentlemen both on and off the ice. They embodied the essence of sportsmanship.
Among the team’s current stars, goalie Carey Price comes closest to reaching the bar set by those players of yore, proving that talent (though he has oodles of it) is not all that counts. Grace and generosity toward his fans and teammates alike are what make Mr. Price a true standout.
Pulling it off is a lot harder than it looks.
On any given day of the year, even (or perhaps especially) during the off-season, Montrealers can spend hours wrapped up in discussions about their team. The sense of proprietorship felt by Canadiens fans means its players and managers face endless scrutiny. To survive as a player or coach in Montreal, you need to develop a thick skin and learn to live with constant criticism.
Since being named as the team’s general manager in 2012, Marc Bergevin has become very good at taking it in the shins from fans. When the Canadiens were mediocre, as they had been for most of Mr. Bergevin’s tenure until this year, he became perhaps the most unpopular person in town. Fan emotions toward the Canadiens GM sometimes went overboard.
All of Mr. Bergevin’s previous errors as general manager, real or imagined, seemed to have been forgiven this spring when the Canadiens made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final. Underdogs throughout, the Canadiens knocked out the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Winnipeg Jets and the Vegas Golden Knights to make it to the final. In May and June, young Montrealers experienced the magic their older peers got to enjoy every season a generation or two ago.
Perhaps it was because he felt vindicated by leading the team to the final, or perhaps because he had become immune to all criticism, that Mr. Bergevin allowed himself to make the biggest mistake of his career in selecting 18-year-old defenceman Logan Mailloux as the team’s first-round pick in the NHL draft last Friday.
While playing in Sweden last year, Mr. Mailloux was fined by authorities for distributing a photo of him engaging in a consensual sexual act with a woman who had not consented to the photo’s sharing. Whatever led Mr. Mailloux to commit this act – peer pressure, a sense of entitlement or sheer thoughtlessness – it should have disqualified him as a potential 2021 NHL draft pick.
Professional hockey has a bad enough reputation for perpetuating harmful and outdated stereotypes about masculinity without welcoming Mr. Mailloux into its ranks. Accordingly, several NHL teams announced before the draft that they would not pick the 6-foot-3, 213-pound defenceman, regardless of his talent or potential on the ice. Mr. Mailloux himself recognized he had much work to do off the ice before earning the privilege of being drafted.
Mr. Bergevin ignored all that. The team even tried to spin the decision to draft Mr. Mailloux as an act of kindness, saying it had chosen not just “a promising hockey player, but also a young man who recently admitted to making a serious mistake” and who deserved a second chance. It also promised “to accompany [Mr. Mailloux] on his journey by providing him with the tools to mature” and to “raise awareness among our players about their actions on the lives of others.”
Mr. Mailloux surely deserves an opportunity to redeem himself. But drafting him before he has demonstrated that he has truly atoned for his behaviour sends an entirely wrong message to young men about the seriousness with which society takes matters of sexual misconduct. It does Mr. Mailloux no favours, either. He will trail a reputation for getting off too easily.
Mr. Bergevin appears to have believed the controversy would blow over. And he may not have been wrong. A few team sponsors have expressed “discomfort” with the choice of Mr. Mailloux; others are “reviewing” their sponsorships, but none has pulled them outright. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered only a mild condemnation, saying he was “deeply disappointed.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Bergevin again attempted to justify his choice of Mr. Mailloux. Team owner Geoff Molson sent out a letter apologizing to Mr. Mailloux’s victim for failing to properly assess the impact on her of its decision to draft the defenceman. But he did not rescind it. Mr. Bergevin’s decision to stand by the draft will henceforth define him. He put winning over sportsmanship. In doing so, he has sullied the Canadiens name and the legacies of the Rocket, Big Bill and the Blond Demon.
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