Professional athletes have different ways of motivating themselves but in the NHL, there’s a tradition that never grows old, the “money on the board” motivational tool.

In a recent interview with RG.org, former Montreal Canadiens first-round pick Mikhail Sergachev revealed he still puts money on the board whenever he takes on the Montreal Canadiens. It might have been years since Marc Bergevin traded the ninth-overall pick in the 2016 draft to the Tampa Bay Lightning in return for Jonathan Drouin, but much like Habs fans, the 26-year-old blueliner remembers.

Whenever a player wants to motivate his team to go get the win in the NHL, he can put money on the board, which essentially means they put an x amount of dollars they’ll pay out if a certain outcome occurs or one that will be paid out to the player who manages to score the game-winning goal for instance. One of the most frequent occurrence is to put up money when playing your former team. In the event of a win, the player then puts the amount promised in the team’s party funds.

Speaking to The Athletic a few years ago, Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin explained it by saying it’s how you can show appreciation to the team, adding that every team in the league does it. For players who are earning a lot of money though, it’s easier to put bigger amounts in play and the Russian sniper has been known to do that. I wonder how much he’ll be putting on the board if and when he beats Wayne Gretzky’s goal record. He’s only 41 goals away from tying the milestone. After a slow start last season, he did score 31 goals and the year before 42 so this could be the year…

Players apparently put money on the boards for various reasons, playing their hometown for example or firing up a heated rivalry even more. Longtime Calgary Flames captain and Edmonton native Jarome Iginla used to put copious amounts on the board for the Battle of Alberta.

This upcoming season, the Canadiens’ players will have a few milestones of their own to motivate themselves. Starting with Kirby Dach who will be after his 100th point in the NHL straight from the get go, his total currently standing at 99.

As for Brendan Gallagher, he stands to overtake Guy Carbonneau in the 21st spot of the Canadiens’ all-time scorer list. The former captain has 221 goals while the diminutive winger has got 217. He should also overtake Bernie Geoffrion in 25th place for the most games played with the team. “Boom Boom” has got 766 games on the counter while “Gally” has 751. The alternate captain could also move up a notch on the all-time assists leader list he’s got 207 and Ryan Walter is on 208 in 41st place. Finally, he needs 24 points to overtake Doug Harvey in 30th place of the all-time points leaders with 447. If he stays healthy, those are all realistic targets.

Maybe there’s a board in the front-office too and that’s how Kent Hughes signed three contracts in two days? Stranger things have happened…