MONTREAL — In the dead of winter, with much time on his hands to contemplate life — not to mention what he got himself into by becoming general manager of the once-proud Montreal Alouettes — Kavis Reed would walk through the barren halls of Olympic Stadium.

And think.

He thought of the concrete area that once was home to baseball’s Montreal Expos, now often vacant except for the occasional concert or trade show. And he wondered why couldn’t the Canadian Football League team conduct practice there, directly across the hall from the team’s dressing and meeting rooms.

“When you look at changing the culture, you have to change the mindset. Having that first-class mentality,” said Reed, the rookie GM who replaced the legendary Jim Popp last December, one month after he was relieved of his duties, fresh on the heels of a second consecutive losing season that ended in a second successive non-playoff appearance.

And so, Reed walked into the executive offices of Parc Olympique (PO), unannounced, with this brainchild last January. He figured nothing ventured, nothing gained. To his surprise, he wasn’t escorted out by security personnel. He eventually found his way to the office of Johanne Thibodeau, the business development director, who was interested in Reed’s proposal.

“We all felt this was a step in the right direction in terms of putting ourselves in a mindset that we’re going to do things in a first-class way,” said Reed, who has overhauled a team that won only 13 of 36 games the past two seasons, hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2014 and hasn’t reached the Grey Cup since 2010 — the longest drought of any team.

“It was about taking that chance and starting the conversation,” he added. “Does it translate into wins? I believe it does.”

The Als have gotten off to a slow start again this season, losing two of three games. Nothing much has, arguably, changed. Montreal continues to struggle offensively and remains competitive largely through a bend-but-don’t-break defence.

But if nothing else, at least the team can claim it has finally entered the 21st century. No longer are players forced to ride a non-air-conditioned school bus to and from practice in suburban St. Léonard, often losing as much as 40 minutes from their 41/2-hour workday while sitting in traffic.

The team also reached a sponsorship agreement with Nolinor Aviation, the largest airline carrier offering specialized commercial charter flights in Canada. While the players and coaches must find their way to the seldom-used Mirabel Airport north of the city, the organization is now in charge of its travel itinerary, deciding when it will leave for road games. And they now have the luxury of leaving immediately following games, avoiding the added expense of an extra hotel night.

Players can discuss the game in a comfortable setting, or meet with their coaches, devoid of paying customers. They have more time to bond. And they now avoid short nights of sleep and bleary-eyed, early-morning trips to the airport, often at the crack of dawn.

“It was rough. It’s great that we’re not on the buses anymore,” said veteran slotback Nik Lewis, now in his third season with Montreal after spending the first 11 in Calgary; the Stampeders, like many teams in the West Division, having enjoyed the luxury of chartered flights for close to a decade.

“It’s hard when you think about walking through an airport to go to games ... having to be at the airport at 7 in the morning or 6 in the morning after a night game. Getting three or four hours’ sleep,” Lewis added. “You have those five- or six-hour flights from the west coast. Those are hard transitions, especially with the time zones. It was rough.”

But Reed didn’t stop there.

As part of his agreement with Olympic Stadium, a new training and weight room to be used exclusively by the players is being created. Immediate improvements will be made to the locker room and other training rooms. A new production studio also will be created, allowing for the processing and distribution of exclusive social media content for the team.

Again through sponsorship, Reed — with the help of front-office personnel in the team’s downtown business operations office — has arranged for the players to have breakfast before 9 a.m. meetings. When they conclude practice at 1 or 1:30, they can dine on lunch before leaving for home. Reed also arranged for water and air-purifier machines to be installed in the dressing room. While this is the norm for many CFL teams, the majority of which have moved into new stadiums, the Als painstakingly lagged behind the times. This is an opening step, one the organization hopes will help to attract players and keep the ones they already possess.

“The bottom line is we had to bus ... on school buses every day. That’s the way it was. And that’s the way it never will be again, hopefully. It was different for sure,” said centre Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, who came to the Als in 2009 from Université Laval, a college program that might be the closest thing to a professionally run organization, funded by the deep pockets of Quebec City businessman Jacques Tanguay.

“Every team has evolved into something bigger and better,” Brodeur-Jourdain said. “They have new stadiums and facilities across the league. If everyone’s taking a step forward and you’re behind, you have to take two steps forward. To me, it’s just a gift. I’m happy to see it’s going back on the right path.”

It has never been cheap to operate a CFL team. Commercial flights alone for the Als annually run in the neighbourhood of $300,000, at least. Hotel costs and per diem allotments for the players bring that total to more than $700,000. Renting the field at Stade Hébert, along with the accompanying bus transportation, added another estimated $36,000 for owners Robert and Andrew Wetenhall.

It’s now believed the Als, despite the optics, will save at least $25,000 annually by chartering. Conversely, they might spend an additional $40,000-$50,000 for the convenience of practising at Olympic Stadium. As part of the arrangement, the team will play at least one home game at the domed east-end facility beginning in 2018.

While Reed will receive the credit, he admitted he couldn’t have achieved such a vast undertaking without the blessing of ownership, new president Patrick Boivin and staff members from the business and football operations offices. Long-serving members of the organization admit Popp tried similar moves for years, but was told the cost was too prohibitive. Popp, known for not enjoying flying, would have chartered in a heartbeat. Indeed, he would have done anything to make the lives of his players easier. But it always came down to budget, and he learned over the years to pick his battles.

The Als haven’t practised on the Parc Olympique grounds since 2008. Indeed, this team won Grey Cups while riding a school bus to and from practice, albeit with Anthony Calvillo as its quarterback.

When Olympic Stadium is booked, the organization has reached an agreement with Major League Soccer’s Montreal Impact to practise on an outdoor field located between Olympic and Saputo Stadium that belongs to the soccer club.

“We’re happy. The Alouettes are a part of the history of the park. They’re part of us,” said Cedric Essiminy, a media relations official for PO. “It’s nice to have a professional sports team back inside the stadium. It’s nice to have the field, which is right here for them.

“We’re really happy to see there’s sports here again,” he added. “The stadium, yes, it’s used for everything. But it was built for sports.”

Reed, as the Als’ special-teams coordinator the past two seasons, got to experience the travel hardships first-hand. He saw the inequity and competitive disadvantage it was creating. He now believes Montreal will operate on a more-level playing field.

“You would hear comments. I can’t lie. More from the players who were new to the team,” Reed said. “To me it does translate into greater success on the field. We’re in a different era. We need to have stability and a like mind to win consistently.”

HAMMERING IN THE HAMMER

It has not been a pretty start in Hamilton, where the Tiger-Cats are 0-2 and have scored only one offensive touchdown.

The Ticats lost 32-15 in their season opener against Toronto and, after a bye week, fell 37-20 in Saskatchewan in Week 3.

Injuries have hurt the Ticats early and Zach Collaros and company are in a hole already, before they even play their home opener at Tim Hortons Field Saturday against the B.C. Lions.

The Ticats will be without defensive back Will Hill when the 2-1 Lions come to town as he was suspended for one game for grabbing the jersey of an official in the loss to the Riders.

Coach Kent Austin has his work cut out in the Hammer.

— Ted Wyman

GRAND OL' TIME FOR OLD-TIMERS

It’s been a great start for the old guys at the quarterback position, with 37-year-old Ricky Ray leading the league in passing yards (1,199) and 38-year-old Kevin Glenn sitting third (1,055).

Glenn is leading the CFL in passing touchdowns (7), while Ray is fifth (4).

Ray has led the Toronto Argonauts to a 2-1 record and first place in the East Division, while Glenn’s Riders are 1-2 but are just a couple of missed field goals away from being at least 2-0-1.

Ray is fourth on the CFL’s all-time passing yardage list with 55,716 yards, while Glenn sits seventh at 49,457.

Like a couple of fine wines.

— Ted Wyman

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It’s a long season, it’s our third game. If it’s game nine then there’s a problem. We’re a new team. We’re trying to figure each other out. Figure the system out. Get on the same page.”

Darian Durant, Montreal Alouettes quarterback, on his team’s 1-2 start to the season

BY THE NUMBERS

1: Combined number of wins by the bottom three teams in the East Division. Montreal has one win, while Ottawa has a tie and two losses. Hamilton is winless

300: Career touchdown passes by Argos quarterback Ricky Ray, who connected with DeVier Posey in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 26-25 win over Ottawa to reach the milestone.

8: Years since the Blue Bombers have won a game at home against Calgary. Their 29-10 loss Friday continued a streak that dates back to July 10, 2009. Overall, Calgary has won 17 of its last 18 games against Winnipeg, including the last seven in a row.

449.7: Yards per game averaged by the Ottawa Redblacks, tops in the CFL despite the team’s 0-2-1 record.

POWER RANKINGS

1 (2). CALGARY

The Stampeders are undefeated — no surprise, really — with two victories and a tie. They would be 3-0 if not for a 37-yard missed field goal by Calgary’s Rene Paredes in overtime during the season opener against Ottawa. Most recently, the Stampeders put the boot to Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols and company.

2 (1). EDMONTON

Edmonton dropped a spot in the rankings without playing a game last week. Such are the joys of being in the same league as Calgary. The Eskimos are banged up, and the bye week won’t have much of a recuperative effect due to season-ending injuries sustained by running back John White and middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt. Stay healthy, Mike Reilly.

3 (5). B.C.

The wait continues for the high-powered Lions offence to explode. Multi-talented quarterback Jonathon Jennings has yet to light it up in collaboration with an elite receiving corps, but all-purpose tailback Jeremiah Johnson has picked up the slack. And the Lions’ defence shut down Montreal quarterback Darian Durant last week.

4 (6). TORONTO

When Ricky Ray is having one of those days, well, good luck to the opposition. On Saturday, for example, he went into Ottawa and piled up 366 passing yards (210 of which were gained by S.J. Green). The Argos’ defence also enjoyed an impressive game, with the result being a one-point win in the home of the defending Grey Cup champions. It’s early, yes, but Marc Trestman for coach of the year!

5 (3). OTTAWA

The Redblacks are surprisingly winless (two losses, one tie) despite having a chance to win all three of their games. They opened up with back-to-back games against Calgary — no easy task — and treated fans to a pair of thrillers. Then came a regression against Toronto (see: Trestman, coach of the year, ad nauseam).

6 (4). WINNIPEG

The Bombers also experienced a two-spot descent after losing 29-10 to Calgary in their home opener. The game turned on a pick-six by Nichols, who had been so sharp six days earlier in Regina — scorching the Roughriders for four touchdown passes. The subsequent matchup with Calgary, which was in a Nichols defence, was a rude awakening.

7 (7). MONTREAL

Montreal maintains its seventh-place ranking following a loss, simply because it has defeated Saskatchewan (No. 8) and simply has to be superior to the early-season version of the Tiger-Cats (No. 9). The Alouettes’ defence has performed quite well. Montreal’s offence? Punt!

8 (8). SASKATCHEWAN

The Roughriders have improved their play, but not their ranking. They have lost to Montreal and Winnipeg so, for the time being, Saskatchewan stays at eighth. Watch for an ascent if the Roughriders, who are on a bye week, can somehow win in Calgary on July 22. Quarterback Kevin Glenn is on a roll and a Chris Jones-choreographed defence gave Hamilton fits on Saturday.

9 (9). HAMILTON

The highlight of Hamilton’s season to date has been a Week 2 bye. The Tiger-Cats opened the season by falling 32-15 to Toronto, and on Saturday lost 37-20 in Saskatchewan. The score actually flattered the Tiger-Cats, who were purposeless offensively and porous defensively. The Tiger-Cats topped it all off by lacking discipline and composure. All in all, the Tabbies were purrrrrrr-etty bad.

— Rob Vanstone

PREDICTIONS

THURSDAY, 7:30 P.M. ET

Toronto (+3.0) at Winnipeg

Can we, uh, pass? Three failed predictions so far and two of them have involved Argonauts games. Had there been opening-week predictions, this visionary would have erroneously picked Hamilton to defeat Toronto, so it really is a complete mess. Ergo, we are killing time in an attempt to avoid making a prediction … crickets … (musical interlude) … Winnipeg faltered in its home opener and the Argos are an early-season surprise … Marc Trestman (Toronto) is a better coach than Mike O’Shea (Winnipeg) … Toronto has a nicer skyline. Winnipeg has a better baseball team. So, what to do? … Argos by five. (The smart money is now on Winnipeg.)

FRIDAY, 5 P.M. ET

Calgary (-5.5) at Montreal

This one is easier, theoretically. Montreal’s offence is only marginally better than that of its 1987 version — and that Alouettes team folded as the regular-season opener loomed. Calgary, by contrast, is Calgary. The safest bet is that Calgary’s Kamar Jorden will reach the end zone. He leads the league in touchdown catches (four) and also has a rushing major to his credit. Touchdowns so far this season: Jorden 5, Montreal offence 4. Jorden rules. Calgary by 12.

FRIDAY, 10 P.M. ET

Ottawa (+6) at Edmonton

This should be the week’s most entertaining game. Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris loves to air it out, and Edmonton's Mike Reilly is one of the league’s elite passers. The Eskimos are undefeated (2-0), whereas Ottawa has yet to register a victory (two losses, one tie), but the suspicion here is that the defending-champion Redblacks are due for a breakout game. Redblacks by three.

SATURDAY, 5:30 P.M. ET

B.C. (-3.0) at Hamilton

Lions quarterback Jonathon Jennings, who has only two touchdown passes in three games, has to erupt one of these weeks. Where better than at Tim Hortons Field? Hamilton’s secondary has more holes than, well, a noted Tim Hortons product. The Tiger-Cats’ offence, hampered by abysmal pass protection and injuries to key receivers Andy Fantuz and Terrence Toliver, has become as predictable as a cheap doughnut joke. Undisciplined penalties, such as contacting an official, also have been part of the Tiger-Cats’ early-season unraveling. How can this be a Kent Austin-coached team? Nothing seems to add up — with the likely exception of the losses. Lions by eight.

Last week: 3-1

Overall: 5-3

— Rob Vanstone