The bad press for the Montreal Canadiens began before their 2016-17 hockey season had even started — but the critical ink did not come from the pen of a jaded sportswriter.
Instead it came from the hand of Dr. CK, short for Dr. Charles Kowalski, a 52-year-old ER physician who lives in Ottawa and still feels so betrayed by the P.K. Subban trade for Shea Weber that he penned a letter (and paid a five-digit sum) to run as a full-page ad in Thursday’s edition of the Montreal Gazette.
The open letter was part tribute to Subban, the player and philanthropist, and part rebuke of Habs brass for trading the immensely popular defenceman.
But in an interview, Kowalski said the purpose of the letter was not to publicly bash the Habs in print, but rather to help carry the torch for Subban’s fundraising efforts at the Montreal Children’s Hospital.
So moved by Subban’s noble gesture to pledge $10 million to the hospital over a seven-year period, Kowalski said he is launching a website where Habs fans can donate directly to the hospital.
In an effort to lead by example, the doctor said he is making a hefty personal donation of $50,000 to kick-start the drive.
“The purpose of this is to ask my fellow Montreal Canadiens fans to follow my lead and donate money to the Montreal Children’s Hospital and help raise money for the cause that P.K. had started,” Kowalski said.
“After the dust settled on this trade, I found my biggest concern was how was money going to be raised for the children’s hospital,” he said. “If anybody could do it, it would be P.K. But I didn’t think it was a realistic expectation to ask him to do it while playing in Nashville.”
Kowalski can relate both as a father and a doctor on the need for better medical care for infants.
“As an emergency physician, I know the importance of medical intervention in the neonatal and infant stage. This is the time when it saves and changes lives.
“My own son (Gabriel) was born unexpectedly at 32 weeks. He was in an ICU and we almost lost him. He was inches away from being transported to Edmonton for life support. So I connect with it.”
Kowalski, a lifelong Canadiens fan who grew up in the Prairies, is calling upon all Habs fans to donate $15, about the cost of a beer at the Bell Centre, to the hospital through a newly launched website afranchiseheldintrust.com
Kowalski’s letter also said he plans to boycott all but one Canadiens home game this season: March 2, 2017, when P.K. and the Predators visit Montreal.
But the doctor insists his aim is to organize a fundraiser, not a fan protest.
“It is absolutely a fundraising project, however, it’s almost impossible to separate the two. And as I said, my comments of not supporting Michel Therrien and Marc Bergevin, I want fans to understand that this trade has changed me and I cannot yet bring myself to go the Bell Centre. I just can’t go … I’ve lost interest.
“I don’t have a personal vendetta against the Montreal Canadiens,” he added. “If the Canadiens go on to win the Stanley Cup this season, good for them.”
But Kowalski said he won’t be there. “At this point I won’t. I hope to go back someday. I just don’t know when that will be.”
The letter caught Subban off guard in Nashville.
“No. I haven’t heard about it. Shocker,” said Subban. “I don’t think there’s a day that goes by that people aren’t like: ‘Oh, I miss you or whatever. But that’s expected.”
As for the trade, Subban added: “People are going to talk about it. It will be interesting to see what happens once the season starts, if everything kind of goes away.”
Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette contributed to this report.
On Thursday, the fan letter, which was signed with the hashtag #mtl4subban also triggered much discussion on social media.
