Canadiennes GM sees Montreal's women's team as natural heirs to Habs 1950s glory days

This is the fifth in CBC's new podcast series, Montreapolis. You can hear a full feature interview with Meg Hewings on the podcast, bringing you conversations with people who make up modern Montreal. Click here to subscribe. 

The hockey season may be over for the Montreal Canadiens, and as they reflect on what went wrong the Habs may want to draw inspiration from Montreal's other professional hockey team: Les Canadiennes.

Meg Hewings, the general manager of Montreal's CWHL franchise, told CBC Montreal's podcast Montreapolis that she sees her team as a reflection of the great Habs teams of the 1950s.

The Canadiennes won their fourth Clarkson Cup in franchise history last month.

• More from Montreapolis:
  • The Dreamer: Tracey Deer, creator of Mohawk Girls
  • The Chef: Culinary superstar Antonio Park

In a wide-ranging interview on the team and her career, Hewings said the Canadiennes' first game at the Bell Centre this year cemented the team's link with their male counterparts in the NHL.

"We are now sister and brother teams. The Canadiens and the NHL have 100 years of experience building up a league, and we need that help," Hewings said.

Flying Frenchwomen

Hewings, a former player on the team, has been the GM for a seven years. 

During her tenure the team entered a formal marketing and promotional partnership with the Habs in 2015, which included changing the team's name from the Montreal Stars to Les Canadiennes.

The partnership culminated in the first regular season game for Les Canadiennes at the Bell Centre in December, when the homeside beat the Calgary Inferno 1-0.

Hewings says Les Canadiennes have a lot in common with the great Habs teams of the 1950s, who won five Stanley Cups in a row with homegrown stars such as Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Jacques Plante.

"Our team has this character like the Flying Frenchmen: representative of the city and the style and the flair of the place. We have a very determined, creative, open style of play," Hewings said.

The Canadiennes have won three Clarkson Cups under Hewings, led by star francophone players such as Caroline Ouellette, Marie-Philip Poulin and Charline Labonté.

Despite great play, no pay

On the downside, Hewings said the Canadiennes stars share something else with the Habs stars of the 1950s:  they're vastly underpaid.

"These are all women that are working full-time jobs — a lot like in the 1950s with NHL players," said Hewings. "You know, Maurice Richard was holding down a job while playing with the Habs."

In fact, Les Canadiennes players — elite athletes, many of whom have won Olympic gold — aren't paid at all.

Hewings said despite the team's success, it's hard to get sponsorships or broadcast deals for the women's game, so teams in the CWHL can't afford to pay their players.  

The players are on the ice simply for the love of the game. 

Hewings said she hopes that will change one day, but it's not happening anytime soon.

Attendance growing

On the upside, the teams' attendance has been growing steadily every year, culminating with the game at the Bell Centre where more than 6,000 fans were on hand.

Hewings said there's no better place to grow the game than in Montreal.

"I think it's a place that shapes the sport and vice versa. People deeply love and are deeply invested in the sport here," she said. 

She said the challenge is getting people to come out and see at least one game.  

"Once they do, they get it," Hewings said. "It's like a lightbulb goes off."

• What's next for the Montreal Canadiens?

While Les Canadiennes need the Habs more than the Habs need them right now, Hewings predicts that balance will shift over time.

"We're just incredibly excited to begin that journey, and to have a true partnership where we can make women's hockey more visible and bring in family audiences, and maybe different audiences that the Canadiens don't have," she said.

• More from Montreapolis: 
  • The Enforcer: Ex-Montreal homicide detective André Bouchard
  • The Survivor: Rap and hip-hop artist Jonathan Emile

You can hear a full feature interview with Meg Hewings on CBC's new Montreapolis podcast, bringing you conversations with people who make up modern Montreal. Click here to subscribe.