The early indications are that Marcel Aubut's tenure as COC President will be a successful one. Who would dare argue. A parade in Montreal to celebrate the successes of Canada's amateur athletes in Vancouver - a sold out gala dinner later that afternoon and increased political clout for Canada's athletes.
Canada's amateur athletes are singing the man's praises as a result. " I think if the all the athletes had his attitude, we would be the best nation in the Summer Games, Winter Games," said Olympic medallist Caroline Brunet.
However, some restraint might be in order before we knight the man and declare him the savior of our Summer Olympic Program.
In Claude Brochu's book "My turn at Bat" Brochu notes that Aubut was a minority investor with the now-defunct Quebec Nordiques but structured an agreement with his partners to run the NHL Team as he saw fit; he answered to no one and did as he pleased. Brochu later adds that Aubut as managing director of the club demanded help from the government for the construction of a new NHL arena before finding out if the business community would support him. When the government refused Aubut's request he ended up doing the unimaginable, and sold the team to a an investment group from Colorado.
To hear Aubut speak of the matter he did all he can to save the Nordiques but fails to tell anyone of the financial windfall he reaped from the sale.
So, while we applaud the man today, please people a little restraint. History shows that Aubut is in this for himself.
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