Jack Todd: Canadiens, Alouettes unlock success using mind over matter
It's all in the mind.
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The more time I spend observing the world of sports (and the decades on the CV are piling up like a 1970s snowstorm in Montreal) the more I'm convinced that the entire vast apparatus of scouting and evaluation in a multibillion-dollar industry undervalues that substance between the ears.
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Year after year, NFL teams drafted towering prototype quarterbacks who could chuck a football 70 yards downfield. Year after year, Tom Brady won the Super Bowl.
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Closer to home, there is no clearer example than the Canadiens and the shift from the emphasis on physical talent to character and intelligence. If Trevor Timmins had a weakness, it was his tendency to overlook those two factors entirely. From the Kostitsyn brothers to Alex Galchenyuk to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, there were clear issues that should have been flagged.
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Mercifully, the decision to swap Max Pacioretty for Nick Suzuki, Tomas Tatar and a second-rounder was not up to Timmins. In Suzuki, the Canadiens got the player who has set the tone for the entire organization, both in the way he thinks the game and in the way he behaves away from the rink.
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All this was on my mind Friday evening, when I watched Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander excel as the Alouettes drubbed the visiting Toronto Argonauts. I had my doubts about the decision to let Grey Cup champ Cody Fajardo get away and replace him with Alexander, mostly because the new QB has a meagre sample size in terms of CFL starts.
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Not to worry. Like Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes and Martin St. Louis, Danny Maciocia and Jason Maas know what they're doing. Alexander plays football like Suzuki plays hockey. He makes his reads quickly. He sees the open receiver. He anticipates. What he lacks in size, he makes up for with quick feet.
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Alexander is also fortunate to have receivers Tyson Philpot and Austin Mack back and healthy. One game doesn't make a season, we know that. But one smart quarterback can make a team.
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A mere 32 years ago Monday, the Canadiens won the most recent of their 24 Stanley Cups on June 9, 1993. I was working on the copy desk at the time and my contribution was to write the headline: 'The Cup Comes Home.'
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