The Canadiens are scoring too many goals

The Canadiens will host the Blue Jackets tonight at the Bell Centre. We're still waiting to see if Jakub Dobes will speak to the media today or get another start, given his strong performance since Marco Marciano took over.

Canadiens fans have until 9:30 p.m. tonight to claim their eight free wings. Because yes, the eight-free-wings promotion is still going strong at La Cage, even though inflation has been out of control since the pandemic.

The only difference: fans who want to claim their free wings must 1. Download the La Cage app and 2. Spend at least $15.

Why am I talking about La Cage's chicken wings this morning? Simply because I feel like the Quebec-based company has never had so much to give away in free wings to Habs fans.

During the rebuild, five-goal games (for) or more were rare for the Habs. But this season, it's a different story.

How many times have La Cage restaurants had to give away free wings to fans since the start of the season? If you answered 17, you're spot on. And that's not even counting the time it happened in the preseason…

17 times out of 70 games, need I remind you? That's still one out of every four games…

It started off pretty smoothly at the beginning of the season, but since the Olympics, things have really picked up. Over the last month, the Habs have scored five or more goals on five occasions. Five times in 13 games!

It even happened during losses in California!

And it also happened in the last game before the Olympic break, which gave fans several days to claim their eight free chicken wings. Some managers at La Cage would tell you straight up that the Canadiens are scoring too many goals.

Will the Habs score five goals again tonight, in front of their fans? We'll see.

A good marketing move?
Is it worth it for La Cage restaurants? Good question!

Eight wings usually sell for $13.50 plus tax and tip under normal circumstances. On Thursdays, wings are 50% off.

On one hand, the current promotion has roughly the same effect as a $13.50 or $6.75 discount on fans' total bill. Over time and with volume, that adds up quickly.

However, the main effect of this promotion is to bring people into the restaurants. Once there, they spend at least $15, often more. It's an excellent incentive, and I dare say it pays off (much) more in the end.

Not to mention the advertising and marketing impact this campaign brings to the business. #BrandImage

All I hope is that people tip more than $15 when they get free wings on their bill. Because Maya, an 18-year-old waitress in Terrebonne, shouldn't make less money at the end of the week just because the Canadiens score five goals too often in a single game!

I can already hear my buddy Georges yelling that we need to save the chickens… that we should offer cauliflower wings instead…