As already reported by feared the dark lord of SB Nation’s NHL hub, Travis Hughes, Michel Therrien has put an end to the triple low five.
A lot of people are reacting very poorly to this, because it was fun and something we all looked forward to at the end of games.
With that said, I get it.
Therrien isn’t doing this because he hates fun. I mean he probably does hate fun, because he’s Michel Therrien, but that’s not why he’s made this decision.
At the end of every game at home this season, the Canadiens come together as a team at center ice and salute the fans. In the room, a fine is now levied out if someone steps on the Montreal Canadiens logo on the center of the floor.
You may think that these things are stupid, and I may be inclined to agree with you, that in most settings, they are. In a vacuum, blind near-worship of a logo is a dumb concept, but this is a team sport.
What Therrien is trying to do is have every player on the Canadiens speaking team. Lock and step, everything is about team. This is likely what Therrien had alluded to when talking about Subban before the season.
As fun as the triple low five is, and I personally love it and will probably miss it after the first win that I don’t see it, it’s not about team. It’s about P.K. Subban and Carey Price.
Do I think that the triple low five was actively hurting the team? No. Do I think players should show their personalities and have fun out there? Hell yes. But I do understand what Therrien is doing here. To quote a friend of mine, he’s taking a militaristic approach. Everything is about the team with you, not an individual.
If you’re really pissed off about the lack of a triple low five after a win, just ask yourself if you think watching Subban play is going to be any less fun without it. I sincerely doubt it.
Michel Therrien may hate fun, but I didn’t see him go after Alex Galchenyuk after his exuberant goal celebration against Florida. In fact he seemed almost as pumped Galchenyuk was. He’s going to let players have fun, but everything, and I mean everything, will be in the context of team.
On the topic of celebrations:
To steal a joke from a friend of mine, losing the triple low five would be totally worth it if the Habs started saluting the fans on the road too. Imagine a 5-0 win in Boston, beer cups being tossed on the ice, and the Habs raise their sticks to the crowd. THAT would be fun.
