The Montreal Canadiens' four Olympians appeared on Tout le monde en parle on Sunday night and fielded Guy A. Lepage's questions, some with more ease than others.
While the Montreal Canadiens had a day off on Sunday, their four Olympians appeared on one of Quebec’s most popular talk shows, Tout le monde en parle on Sunday night. For 15 minutes, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Alexandre Texier and Oliver Kapanen answered Guy A. Lepage’s questions. While it wasn’t a groundbreaking interview, there were some interesting takeaways.
Of course, the four players were asked how it would feel to compete against each other at the Olympics, and they gave the standard answer through Suzuki: they’re already used to playing against friends and former teammates in the NHL, which isn’t any different. When the group was asked what they would choose between winning the Stanley Cup and an Olympic Gold medal, Texier made the crowd chuckle when he said the Cup would be more realistic for him, since he plays for France, but ultimately, all four players opted for the Cup. Kapanen added that it’s what he grew up dreaming about.
The Finn was also asked if he thinks about winning the Calder Trophy since he leads all rookies in goal scoring, and if there’s some teasing between him and Ivan Demidov. He replied that no, it’s not something he thinks about, while also praising his teammate as a special player. I thought that was a bit of an awkward question to ask. Anyone who follows the NHL closely knows that Kapanen is not in the Calder conversation.
That was just one of a few awkward moments, however. Another one came when Suzuki was asked which words he knew in French, and he replied that he knew how to say his name and ask someone how they are doing. While I do not believe it’s essential for the Canadiens’ captain to learn to speak French, it’s a bit weird to get that answer after much was made of Suzuki doing his first interview in French earlier this season with TVA Sports. While we know that the interview was rehearsed, you’d still expect Suzuki to see a bit more than those two basic phrases by now.
Lepage also asked the players if any of them had watched Crave’s hit show Heated Rivalry, and there was a long pause while they looked at one another to decide who would answer. Suzuki replied that they had all heard about the series and that it was great that it brought new fans to the game. Texier was then asked why homosexuality was still a taboo in hockey, and he replied that it wasn’t and that the team would be fine with one of its members coming out, that they’d be welcomed with open arms.
Those were the expected answers, really, but the embarrassed silence when the players were asked whether they had watched the show is evidence that there’s still a lot of work to be done in the NHL. If players are shy about being asked if they watched a show about two hockey players secretly having a relationship, it’s hard to imagine that a coming-out would go down well.
The four Olympians still have five games to play before they can set their sights on chasing the Olympic gold medal. The Canadiens will take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, the Minnesota Wild on Monday, and the Winnipeg Jets on February 4.
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