There’s been a major announcement made today at the Bell Centre. The team formerly known as the Montreal Stars team has officially become Les Canadiennes de Montréal.
When Geoff Molson mentioned that the Montreal Stars name was not bilingual, it was only a matter of time before the team would be going through a re-branding. The first official confirmation came during the CWHL Draft: a new name, logo, and uniforms were on their way.
Now that the new identity is here, you can expect a bigger presence from the team in terms of marketing and visibility.
The biggest part of this partnership is, and always will be, the marketing and promotional abilities of the Canadiens. I am excited to see it in full force now that the rebrand is complete.
The old name had a lot of history associated with it, as the first women’s hockey team in Montreal was named the Stars. However, the goal of the partnership was to expand the team’s market, and a fresh rebrand would be the easiest way to create a lot of buzz. I’ll gladly defer to the Montreal Canadiens when it comes to matters of marketing.
The Montreal Canadiens do a lot of things right, and a fresh start is an encouraging sign for Les Canadiennes going into their first season with the help of the NHL team.
Along with arguably the best and most popular women’s hockey player in the world, Marie-Philip Poulin, joining them as well, it will be a great opportunity to get people to check out the CWHL for the first time. Getting people to enter the arena is an important, and necessary, step.
By naming the team Les Canadiennes, it’s clear this isn’t just a partnership. The team is becoming an extension of the Canadiens brand. The name gives the CWHL team instant credibility when it comes to public perception.
The perception is no longer that this is a team wearing bleu, blanc, rouge trying to be like the Habs. They now are Les Canadiennes. And the Canadiennes aren’t just part of the Canadiens family.
They are the matriarch.
Initially I had my doubts about the name. But the aforementioned points, combined with the fact that the players apparently love the name, is more than enough to sway me to the other side.
I was worried about the team not having its own identity. I realize now, it has exactly the right one.
Les Canadiennes de Montreal kick off their regular season on Saturday, October 17th versus the Brampton Thunder.
