Habs ownership history question

[senseimike]

Hey Guys,

As I understand it, recent Habs ownership went: Molson Company --> George Gillett --> Geoff Molson
So just wondering, what was going on with Geoff Molson before 2009 that he couldn't buy the team from his family's company then, when they decided to sell?

 

[salbutera]

Hey Guys,

As I understand it, recent Habs ownership went: Molson Company --> George Gillett --> Geoff Molson
So just wondering, what was going on with Geoff Molson before 2009 that he couldn't buy the team from his family's company then, when they decided to sell?

Molson Company in the 90s was getting clobbered by international competition & to avoid a hostile takeover they formed a “merger with Coors” but it wasn’t really a merger …. Molson family got a few board seats (to save face), and Coors family has complete say & decision control.

When Gillett took ownership, Molson family maintained a minority stake, and a clause in the sales agreement giving them first right of refusal if Habs were ever sold.

Geoff Molson is a marketing guy, his brother Eric is the brains behind the operation but neither has the significant wealth to swim with the sharks - they were, however, able to find silent investors and build a consortium to buy the team back from Gillett in the bidding war.

 

[Lshap]

Molson Company in the 90s was getting clobbered by international competition & to avoid a hostile takeover they formed a “merger with Coors” but it wasn’t really a merger …. Molson family got a few board seats (to save face), and Coors family has complete say & decision control.

When Gillett took ownership, Molson family maintained a minority stake, and a clause in the sales agreement giving them first right of refusal if Habs were ever sold.

Geoff Molson is a marketing guy, his brother Eric is the brains behind the operation but neither has the significant wealth to swim with the sharks - they were, however, able to find silent investors and build a consortium to buy the team back from Gillett in the bidding war.

Thanks for this. Considering how long I've been hearing the Molson name, I know surprisingly little about their story.

 

[senseimike]

So if I understand correctly, the team was sold to Gillett until the Molson brothers could get their act together (i.e. consortium of minority owners to buy with them) so they could buy them team on their own?

 

[Lshap]

So if I understand correctly, the team was sold to Gillett until the Molson brothers could get their act together (i.e. consortium of minority owners to buy with them) so they could buy them team on their own?

Gillett wasn't a placeholder for the Molsons. In fact, he was a very progressive owner who built the practice centre on the south shore and made the Habs immensely more popular and profitable than they already were.

He sold the team because he needed the cash for even larger sports investments.

 

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

Gillette was smart business man. Bought the Habs at right time.

 

[BLONG7]

Gillette was smart business man. Bought the Habs at right time.

Bought for 220M and sold for 660M thereabouts.......................hated to see him sell, he was a great owner.
Tripled his invenstment in 9-10 years? Smart dude.......Gainey and Boivin did a great job under GG.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Gillett wasn't a placeholder for the Molsons. In fact, he was a very progressive owner who built the practice centre on the south shore and made the Habs immensely more popular and profitable than they already were.

He sold the team because he needed the cash for even larger sports investments.

Where did the Habs practice before Brossard?

 

[Lshap]

Where did the Habs practice before Brossard?

Not sure; I think they used the Bell Centre and before that, the Forum.

 

[Quatre Vingt Treize]

Geoff Molson and his partners have purchased Andlauer's 10 per cent share in the Habs.

 

[Le Tricolore]

Gillette was smart business man. Bought the Habs at right time.

George Gilette was the owner of the team when I worked at the Bell Centre store, and he and his son Foster were just the nicest guys. I have nothing bad to say about how either of them treated the employees, including me and my co-workers who were making like $10 an hour back then.

I remember it was a Friday evening right after the holidays and the store was pretty empty (both as far as customers go, and merchandise). Foster Gilette walked in and was just looking around. My friend and I were a little nervous to be around him but he was super friendly and we chatted with him for like 20 minutes. At one point he asked us if we had any jerseys with names already stitched on that he'd be able to buy for gifts. We didn't have any in the store, so we called down the warehouse. We told him that the only ones we currently had were Huet jerseys. He looked around to make sure no one was near him, and then leaned in and whispered "between you and me, I don't think he's going to be around a whole lot longer.", which ended up being true when we traded him at the deadline after another deal where we got Johan Hedberg and Marian Hossa, if I'm not mistaken. That's what happened, right?

Anyway, it's a small nothing story, and I doubt he knew much about the moves Gainey was going to be making, but it's still a funny memory to me all this time later.

 

[the]

Here's some good links op to give you a better idea of the family dynamic and Geoff's life pre 2009.

Basically he was going to stay in the family business. His father Eric had just retired so he was about to take more responsibilities but almost immediately George Gillett Jr put the team for sale.

This is in French but it's a very interesting read and worthy of a Google translate.

Les frères Molson comme vous ne les avez jamais vus

Francophiles et fanatiques de hockey, les descendants de septième génération du brasseur John Molson ont réalisé leur rêve d'enfance: racheter le Canadien de Montréal. Portrait de trois frères qui ne «pètent pas de broue».

www.lapresse.ca

Here's another read in English.

Can Geoff Molson save the Montreal Canadiens?

Geoff Molson renews a hockey dynasty

www.theglobeandmail.com

I'm trying to find a third link. Basically Eric Molson initially refused to let Geoff buy the team since he thought the business model was too volatile and was not worth the headache and uncertainty of owning a hockey team.

-Edit-

Found it

Accueil

Le journal francophone de référence depuis 1928 pour l'actualité économique, boursière et financière.

www.lesaffaires.com

 

[BLONG7]

George Gilette was the owner of the team when I worked at the Bell Centre store, and he and his son Foster were just the nicest guys. I have nothing bad to say about how either of them treated the employees, including me and my co-workers who were making like $10 an hour back then.

I remember it was a Friday evening right after the holidays and the store was pretty empty (both as far as customers go, and merchandise). Foster Gilette walked in and was just looking around. My friend and I were a little nervous to be around him but he was super friendly and we chatted with him for like 20 minutes. At one point he asked us if we had any jerseys with names already stitched on that he'd be able to buy for gifts. We didn't have any in the store, so we called down the warehouse. We told him that the only ones we currently had were Huet jerseys. He looked around to make sure no one was near him, and then leaned in and whispered "between you and me, I don't think he's going to be around a whole lot longer.", which ended up being true when we traded him at the deadline after another deal where we got Johan Hedberg and Marian Hossa, if I'm not mistaken. That's what happened, right?

Anyway, it's a small nothing story, and I doubt he knew much about the moves Gainey was going to be making, but it's still a funny memory to me all this time later.

Great story, glad to hear they were nice guys....................Huet got us a draft pick and that's it.....might have been a 2nd round pick.

 

[RC51]

I do remember those years. I do remember the molson beer sales went down and Labatt beer went up. The quebec people voted with thier beer picks. Gillett is American and ran the habs like a business, the molson family ran the habs as a symbol of quebec heritage.
" we will pay big buck for all the tickets as long as you cut all the cheques right up to the cap. The habs make money every year even if their in last place. In Quebec the Habs are a darn religion not just a hockey team.. Quebec gives hockey players a nation funeral , go ahead name a state that does that

 

[dcyhabs]

Gillette was smart business man. Bought the Habs at right time.

Gillette was a modern business man. He pretty much bought the habs with the habs money. He flashed enough money to get a loan, got the habs, borrowed more money, put the debt on the team's tab and put the money in his holdings that he used to buy a soccer team. The purchase price was more than just what was paid to Gillette because it included that debt with the team. They bought a team that owed a pretty hefty pile of money.
It's not comparable to Loria, who put up no money, moved the team, and got huge money from MLB, but Gillette's financial dealings should not be legal and would not have been a few decades ago. It pretty much comes down to the rules being changed so that if you can convince banks that you have enough money you can pillage any company that is sitting on cash. Very '80s economics.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Gillett wasn't a placeholder for the Molsons. In fact, he was a very progressive owner who built the practice centre on the south shore and made the Habs immensely more popular and profitable than they already were.

He sold the team because he needed the cash for even larger sports investments.

Pierre Boivin was a marketing genius during his stint with the Habs, although he did benefit from a perfect generational window where he could use the legends of the past when they were still alive to create a nostalgic fever. He succeeded. It would be hard to do the same right now, with so much of the population too young to have seen the legends play.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Yeah, I've heard through the grapevine that Boivin's marketing acumen is pretty much at genius levels.

 

[HuGo Sham]

Not sure; I think they used the Bell Centre and before that, the Forum.

i think they used the verdun auditorium

 

[ThaDevilGirl]

i think they used the verdun auditorium

I don't remember Verdun, but I remember Pierrefonds.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Great story, glad to hear they were nice guys....................Huet got us a draft pick and that's it.....might have been a 2nd round pick.

One of the dumbest trades made during the Gillette era. Put a first place team in the hands of a 22 and a 20 year old goalie and it backfired hard in the playoffs that year.

 

[salbutera]

So if I understand correctly, the team was sold to Gillett until the Molson brothers could get their act together (i.e. consortium of minority owners to buy with them) so they could buy them team on their own?

No … the Molson Breweries was bleeding lots of red, and needed to reduce debt. Habs + their privately funded arena (Centre Molson at the time) was losing lots of $, had too much debt on the books at the time.

Even thought Ron Corey was technically President of Habs, Molson’s CEO Dan O’Neill was asked to add hockey teams Pres role along w CEO role in 1997 and find ways to increase profitability including bringing in a new President of Mtl Canadiens - which he did a couple of years later (1999) by poaching Pierre Boivin from Bauer-Cooper. From 1997-1999 Corey’s actual roles was working for Molson Brewery as Pres of Quebec operations even though he was Habs Pres in name only.

Decision was made by the Molson board in 1998 selling off the team + arena was the only way to clean up the books, and try to compete with international peers (namely Anheuser-Bush, Heneiken, Coors and Carlsberg). Boivin was asked to focus on finding a new owner…. which ended up being Gillett in late 2000, with a sweetheart deal, as no local owner demonstrated any interest in buying the team + arena.

Gillett was an excellent owner IMO, he recognized the value of Mtl Canadiens brand and marketed it flawlessly. He also turned around the entire concert scene, Mtl struggled to attract top notch artists in the 90s, after Donald K Donald, and Gillett Entertainment Group was created and made the arena 2nd only to MSG in North America in terms of occupancy. Gillett, however, had loftier visions including securing funding for paying off debt from purchase of Liverpool
FC in the English Premiership

Sorry for the long drawn out reply, but bottom line Geoff Molson was told by his father (Senator Molson’s nephew) not to buy the Habs and do something else in life…he did it anyway and the brothers have continued to grow the successful business after taking over from Gillett

 

[3rd Username]

I don't remember Verdun, but I remember Pierrefonds.

They definitely practiced in Verdun in the late 80's, not sure if that changed in the 90's

 

[JC Superstar]

Gillett bought the team for 220M? Léo Dandurand bought the team for 10K and made it a legend.

 

[BLONG7]

One of the dumbest trades made during the Gillette era. Put a first place team in the hands of a 22 and a 20 year old goalie and it backfired hard in the playoffs that year.

Not to mention, Huet was worth more, but hindsight eh............Huet's best performances, were with the Habs for sure........went on to a decent career, but did not play that well once he left. Had a good team out in front of him.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Not to mention, Huet was worth more, but hindsight eh............Huet's best performances, were with the Habs for sure........went on to a decent career, but did not play that well once he left. Had a good team out in front of him.

Still think that 08 team was the best we’ve had since 93. Put way too much pressure on Price early. Would’ve been tough getting by Pittsburgh or Detroit, but we essentially gave ourselves no shot.