There were three seconds left when Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson dropped back for one last crack.
There was no time left on the clock when Marc-Antoine Dequoy, closing on the ball like a hungry cheetah, leapt high and tipped it into the Montreal night.
Game over. 21-17 Alouettes. A gaudy 10-1 record that doesn’t quite reflect the scrambly, clawing, biting, scratching way the Als get it done. As Will Shakespeare once said on his podcast, “just win, baby.”
It was left to the Alouettes to close out a memorable week in Montreal sports with a win over the team formerly known as the Eskimos on a night when members of the 1974 Grey Cup championship team were on hand.
It was also the week (in case you were vacationing in Irkutsk and missed it) when Canadiens GM Kent Hughes pulled off what may be the coup of his career to date, sending young defenceman Jordan Harris to Columbus for Finnish sniper Patrik Laine and a second-round pick.
Somewhere in there, floundering CF Montréal somehow managed to lose 5-0 to the last-place New England Revolution at home. Joey Saputo’s team is now 11th in the east with eight games to play.
But hey — two out of three ain’t bad. What we have here are two superbly managed teams and one that is circling the drain.
I’ve already apologized to Alouettes GM Danny Maciocia for doubting him — but it’s an apology I may have to repeat for the another 10 seasons. The Alouettes played Sunday night with a very good receiving corps sidelined by injury, rescued in part by the timely return of Austin Mack.
Starting quarterback Cody Fajardo returned Sunday after missing four games and the Alouettes didn’t miss a beat while he was out. Third stringer Davis Alexander stepped in and if anything, the passing game was more dangerous downfield. That kind of depth is to Maciocia’s credit.
If I were teaching a course in sports management, however, I would begin and end with Kent Hughes. Make that Hughes and executive vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, with an honourable mention to owner Geoff Molson, who has learned on the job — but Hughes is the figure fans have come to know and trust.
Step by step, month by month, move by move, Hughes has not only begun a substantial rebuild of the Montreal Canadiens, he has also shown that the culture of paranoia that has ruled sports management in the 21st century is both ineffective and unnecessary. Instead, Hughes has proven that a GM can be simultaneously transparent and effective.
The result is that fans understand what Hughes is doing and why he is doing it. You will never silence all the critics, but Hughes is easily the most liked and admired Habs GM since Serge Savard was riding high, with gusts to Sam Pollock.
As with Marc Bergevin and the franchise-handicapping trade that sent defenceman Mikhail Sergachev to Tampa for Jonathan Drouin, the Laine deal will be one of those defining moments for Hughes. Laine didn’t even have time to say bonjour/hi before the same people who were screaming for offence were screaming that the Finn is too big a risk.
The risk comes down to money. If Laine doesn’t pan out, the Habs are out a couple of seasons at a substantial cap hit. Laine’s potential, on the other hand, is over the moon.
In return for a young defenceman who was going to have to battle for ice time, Hughes obtained a 6-foot-5 forward who racked up a 44-goal season before his 20th birthday. Laine is now in the capable hands of Martin St. Louis and if there’s a coach in the league that can help Laine rediscover himself, it’s the Hall of Famer behind the bench.
A portion of Laine’s success or failure will lie with the notorious fans and media of Montreal. If we’re going to scorch the guy if he doesn’t score in his first game, if we’re going to pillory him when he’s in the throes of a 10-game slump, this isn’t going to work.
Unlike Pierre-Luc Dubois (who clearly needs to buy a give-a-damn) Laine can be a bit fragile. He admits as much himself, although he appears to be on the road back. Gorton, Hughes and St. Louis all met with him and they were convinced.
Now it’s time to give him a boost. By next season, the top six could be a top seven with Laine, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Russian prodigy Ivan Demidov and five of the seven are here courtesy of Kent Hughes.
You asked for it, people. Hughes delivered.
Heroes: Cole Spieker, Cody Fajardo, Antonio Moultrie, Austin Mack, Marc-Antoine Dequoy, Tyrice Beverette, Charleston Rambo, Wilfried Nancy, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Joey Votto, Patrik Laine, Danny Maciocia, Jeff Gorton, Martin St. Louis &&&& last but not least, Kent Hughes.
Zeros: Video replays in Little League Baseball, Deion Sanders, Bev Priestman, John Herdman, Chad Kelly, Aaron Rodgers, Jim Harbaugh, Joey Saputo, Stan Bowman, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.
Now and forever.