The Canadiens have hired a former SPVM police officer to protect/advise players

Yesterday, Shane Pinto was suspended for 41 games. The reason: he gambled on sports.

41 games is a lot, but Gary Bettman still wanted to give him more games of suspension. The NHL (and professional leagues in general) want to prevent this kind of incident from happening again.

The players are therefore very well educated and advised on the subject.

According to Martin Leclerc, the Habs go even further to protect their players (especially their young players) from outside distractions like drugs, sports betting, etc.

Leclerc told the Tellement Hockey podcast that Montreal has hired a former SPVM police officer to act as chaperone. In fact, it was an unnamed team veteran who recommended that the team go ahead with the hiring.

As the Radio-Canada expert and columnist explains, the former police officer has worked in downtown Montreal his entire career. He knows all the bar owners, the “not-frequentable” people and other characters who have a big influence downtown, like Damien in Fugueuse.

So this guy is in the team’s entourage, watching over, advising, protecting – you name it – the guys in the organization. Honestly, it’s a timely hire, since the team is young and we don’t want the organization to turn into a Lance & Compte club. In other words, we don’t want young players, who can be more easily influenced, to fall into traps.

We don’t want Kostityn brothers, Nathan Beaulieu, Alex Galchenyuk and Roman Hamrlik 2.0. So Montreal is doing everything to surround its players well, and that’s very smart. The guys will focus on field hockey, and that’s what’s important.

But be careful. The influential former policeman isn’t going to stop the players from living their lives, but he is going to advise them on where to go drinking, socializing and so on. After all, he’s not a dictator.

We don’t know the name, age or even title of the club’s (recent?) acquisition, but he’ll be a big help. The new management isn’t afraid to spend to improve the team off the ice, and that’s a credit to them.

In gusts

– I agree.

– There’s no undefeated team left in the NHL.

Kurashev inflicts a 1st defeat on the Golden Knights!🚨🎥https://t.co/20IhAixY27

– RDS (@RDSca) October 28, 2023

– Joseph Woll, the new Carey Price?