In an era where rosters are shaped by cap math, winning franchises rely less on outspending and more on culture. Because teams cannot simply outspend one another, success hinges on extracting maximum competitive value from limited cap space. This pressures organizations to leverage every other asset they control beyond money, such as draft capital and prospect development.
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Intangibles are so impactful now, more than ever. Montreal Canadiens general manager (GM) Kent Hughes recognizes that teams require leadership, buy-in and role clarity to extract maximum value from each player and every dollar spent. This is why culture is more than an overused cliché; it is the intangible that championship-calibre teams are built upon.
Culture Matters
Culture is a vague term for some, but for everyone, it is one of those intangibles that can’t be quantified but can be seen. Strong, constructive culture multiplies the value of roster decisions, while poor culture reduces returns on talent investments. One look at any rebuild in the salary cap era can provide multiple examples for either direction. One major advantage is its ability to help with the retention and attraction of top role players.
This causes a snowball effect as the on-ice results are beginning to be seen as a positive atmosphere, which breeds positive results, and positive results lead to more wins, and in turn, that feeds the view of a club as being “on the rise”. And the Canadiens are in that stage of their rebuild as they are just now beginning to show real promise. That has led to Montreal being a far more attractive destination than it has been in the past.
Culture isn’t a magical spell, because having elite talent does matter. Culture does not replace that talent, but it can amplify it, even help to fuel it. But this culture is more than just an attitude or the values of the roster; it is fueled by the vision management has provided.
Canadiens Can Learn From the Past
Looking at past winners can provide the case for just how important culture can be. The first one to win back-to-back titles in the cap era is a great place to start. The Pittsburgh Penguins spent nearly 15 years as perennial Stanley Cup contenders and won three Cups. This era is defined as the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era.
This era, while technically not over, is no longer a Cup-contending team. That said, it’s an era marked by elite talent and leadership, buy-in from their core players, as well as player development as a pipeline providing players such as Jake Guentzel and Matt Murray, which fueled their success over the long term.
The team’s identity took on Crosby’s characteristics. They were a highly skilled, hardworking team. But success in that era wasn’t just playing style and their high-end star power; it was their depth as well. That depth was paid for from the savings provided by Crosby’s example, taking less money against the cap and allowing it to be spent to add to the roster.
A current juggernaut is the Florida Panthers. While they were a league doormat for many years, in 2013, new ownership arrived and was willing to spend on the front office. The hiring of Paul Maurice and the addition of Matthew Tkachuk produced a rapid culture shift, leading to three consecutive Cup Final appearances and two consecutive Cup championships.
Florida’s culture is slightly different than Pittsburgh’s, where they hold an identity of brutal honesty and a smug, physical approach to the game.
“If you walk into the room and you just tell the truth, whether they want to hear it or not, but it’s the truth, and over time you could look back and say what that person told me was the truth, you’ll have respect for that, I think. So I work hard at trying to find the truth every day and then just telling it as simply as I can, with the occasional joke slipped in. Most times I’m the only one that thinks it’s funny.”
Their renewed competitiveness, clear expectations, and a strong coaching influence helped to convert previously underachieving assets into a cohesive, efficient unit that outperforms salary expectations. They have also allowed players such as Sam Bennett to desire to remain and take less money to do so, allowing them to spend on other players to help improve team depth.
Even with cap parity, a weak culture can magnify every operational mistake and stall rebuilds. The current poster child for this is the Buffalo Sabres. They kept stumbling due to organizational instability with several sudden regime changes and no clear plans. This chronic rebuilding and front-office turnover has led to a very frustrated fanbase, but it has also caused several star players to demand a change of scenery. Recently, there was Jack Eichel, who forced a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights, but the most infamous one may have been the Ryan O’Reilly soap opera. The one where he accused Buffalo of “being OK with losing.”
New Culture (the Hughes Era)
The Canadiens can learn from these rebuild models, and from their own recent past. Montreal has had mixed results in the cap era, having occasional deep playoff runs but being hampered by managerial decisions (trades, contract allocations), cap constraints and an over-reliance on key veterans (Carey Price era). Now, with Nick Suzuki at the leadership helm, the goal, as the Penguins did with Crosby, is for Montreal to take on his characteristics, such as intelligence, offensive vision and a complete two-way game.
So far, the Canadiens have stuck to a philosophy; every player drafted or signed is scouted for his character. Players must have an overt competitive streak, the emotional strength to handle playing in the unique Montreal market, and be humble enough to buy into the team’s structure and the coaching of Martin St. Louis.
The positive atmosphere built by management and the cooperative and individualized learning environment built by St. Louis have been the cornerstones of the rebuild. A team atmosphere becomes positive when coaches include players in the process because it fosters player empowerment, builds a sense of ownership, and improves communication. This approach shifts the dynamic from a one-way “one-size-fits-all” model to a collaborative environment.
Canadiens Cap Implications
That all provides increased buy-in for team goals. It allows for better motivation and morale, which encourages players to take risks while remaining within the overall team plan. It also builds better communication and problem-solving as players become comfortable not only with the staff but their teammates as well. In turn, this increases skill development as they take ownership of their own careers and of team success, and this also allows stronger bonds to be built between individuals. That means that players will feel a sense of brotherhood and belonging, increasing their bonds to the group.
This is paying off financially for the team as well, and is one reason why so many of the Canadiens’ core players continue to take less than market value. This whole culture goes from Suzuki, their captain, and now the entire core has so far signed what’s considered team-friendly deals. Just in the last few months, Noah Dobson took less than market value, and Lane Hutson took less as well.
Now, Mike Matheson is the latest player to take below market value. Why did he stay in Montreal? There are many reasons. He valued home, family, and the locker room over money, choosing stability and fit over a bigger payday elsewhere. Marco D’Amico at RG.org confirmed that Matheson sacrificed dollars to stay in Montreal.
“He could have gotten more money on the open market, but Mike wanted to stay in Montreal. Playing here checks off so many boxes for him and his family that he wanted to make it work.”
– Philippe Lecavalier (Matheson’s agent)
What he and the other core group members are doing is giving themselves and the Canadiens the best chance at winning, not just for one season, but for a larger window of time. These concessions give Hughes the budget to fill in the roster with higher value depth, but also the opportunity to take a big swing for an unrestricted free agent (UFA) or trade for a star player with a big contract when the time is right.
With his arsenal of picks, prospects, young roster players and salary cap space, the Canadiens are in a position to weaponize their assets, a position that fans had hoped their team would be in when the rebuild began nearly four years ago. Under a hard cap like the NHL’s, culture is a force multiplier, and because of the efforts of management to create a positive culture that permeates the entire organization, the Canadiens now have the foundation to be able to open a long-term window of being Stanley Cup contenders.
